Shelton Defeats Fritz In All-American Final To Win Dallas Title
Ben Shelton won the first indoor title of his career on Sunday when he came back from a set down to defeat fellow American Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the Dallas Open.
Shelton needed to save three championship points down 4-5 in the deciding third set, and rebounded to lose only three points the rest of the way to close out Fritz and earn the fourth ATP Tour title of his career.
“It feels amazing. I thank God, because I needed something super natural to end up winning this tournament with all the holes that I was in,” said Shelton. “I feel grateful to play five matches out here with these crowds. The energy was amazing. I had to fight until the last minute. Fritz was playing very good tennis and I was struggling a lot with what he was throwing at me. I tried to be a competitor through and through, and I ended up coming out on top. I think it’s a testament to the work me and my team put in.”
After dropping the opening set, Shelton broke Fritz for a 5-3 lead in the second set and eventually forced a decider. Despite trailing 4-5 in the deciding third set, Shelton held serve to even things at 5-5. In the ensuing game, a double-fault from Fritz set up several break points for Shelton.
He converted on them, and proceeded to serve out the set, the match and the championship.
“If you’d told me I lost after having three match points, I think I would expect to be a lot more upset,” said Fritz. “It hurts, but I feel like it doesn’t hurt as much as I would expect it to because I don’t really have a lot of regret with how I played those match points.”
Shelton said:
“Once I get a set, I feel pretty confident,” said Shelton. “Once I’m able to sink my teeth in and feel like I have some sort of rhythm, I just start to loosen up and find my level. I think I’m also in shape–my fitness levels are good–and that probably plays into it.”
