Ben Shelton secured his fifth Tour title with a convincing 6-2, 7-5 win over Flavio Cobolli in the BMW Open final, marking his second clay title and cementing his position as a force to be reckoned with on the surface. Shelton's victory comes after a loss to Alexander Zverev in the final last year, and he has now become the first American in series history to win three ATP 500 titles. Following the win, Shelton expressed his growing ambitions on clay, a surface he is rapidly becoming fond of, as he looks ahead to Roland Garros.
The American, who was knocked out in the round of 16 last year by Carlos Alcaraz, is eager to improve his performance on clay. "I started at a very high level, which I've done before against him. The challenge is to maintain that level when he raises his game," Shelton said.
"I managed to do that in the second set, staying focused when he played exceptional tennis, and ultimately winning in straight sets. I'm pleased with my performance this week, as I continued to improve and am thrilled with the work my team and I put in. My goal is to get better on clay each year, and it's gradually becoming one of my favorite surfaces. This win is just one step in a long journey, and we'll see what the future holds." The tone of the match was set from the beginning, with Shelton breaking Cobolli's serve in the first game and then defending six break points in his first service game.
Shelton's win also makes him the first American since Andre Agassi in 2002 to win a title on clay above the ATP 250 level, having won his first clay title in Houston in 2024. In other news, Arthur Fils defeated Andrey Rublev 6-2, 7-6 (2) to win his first title since 2024 at the Barcelona Open on Sunday. Fils, who returned to action in February after nearly eight months out due to injury, secured his fourth ATP title with the victory.
The Frenchman dominated the first set in just 31 minutes but struggled to capitalize on seven break points as Rublev stayed alive in the match at 2-2 in the second set. Fils eventually secured the crucial break to take a 4-2 lead but squandered a chance to win when he made three consecutive errors, gifting Rublev a break back while leading 5-3. Rublev fought back to rescue three match points and hold, before breaking for a 6-5 lead, but Fils drew level and forced a decisive tiebreak, where he prevailed 7-2.