Ben Shelton took his fifth Tour title with a 6-2 7-5 win over Flavio Cobolli as he admits the clay is slowly becoming one of his favourite surfaces.
After losing in the final to Alexander Zverev last year, Shelton avenged the result to win his second clay title and become the first American in series history to win three ATP 500 titles.
Following the win, Shelton teased his ambitions on clay as Roland Garros fast approaches. The American was knocked out in the round of 16 last year by Carlos Alcaraz, who went on to win.
“I came out at a really high level and I’ve done that before against him,” Shelton said. “The toughest thing is maintaining it against him as he raises his level.
“I was able to do that in the second set, hang in there when he played some great tennis and come through to win that in straight sets.
“I’m happy with my performance this week. I got better and better as the week went on and just really happy with the work that me and my team put in here.
“Moving forward, I have big ambitions for the clay courts, a surface that I want to get better and better on each year and it’s slowly becoming one of my favourite surfaces to play on.
“This is just one step in a long swing and let’s see what happens.”
The tone of the match was set early on, with Shelton breaking Cobolli’s serve in the first game before fending off six break points in his first service game.
The 23-year-old Italian had played one of his best ever matches yesterday to defeat Zverev and make his second Tour final this year, but in the final he was unable to replicate the finesse shown the day prior.
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.
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