Ben Shelton beat close friend and countryman Frances Tiafoe in three tight sets 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to win the U.S Men’s Clay Court Championships for the first time – and is now aiming to crack the top 10 and also become America’s highest ranked player.
Having won his first ATP title last year in Tokyo, the 21-year-old has now risen to a new career high of 14 by winning this ATP 250 event, and is the second best American behind Taylor Fritz who is only one spot ahead.
This was the second encounter between two hard-hitting baseliners with huge serves. Shelton also won their thrilling US Open quarter final last year in four close sets. The match was played in wonderful spirits, with the two exuberant and stylish players regularly engaging the crowd after some lengthy exchanges and hard-fought rallies.
“The clay is really starting to grow on me,” said Shelton. “Clay is all about movement and patience. I have a high-bouncing serve, heavy forehand, and like to think I’m pretty athletic. I come forward to finish points at net quite a bit and you need those finishing net skills in clay because it’s tougher to win points from the baseline. Though I’m less experienced in terms of matches, I feel my game is well-suited for clay because I like having more time with the ball sitting up higher. It just takes time to develop.”
In one particular sequence at the start of the second set, Shelton hit the net cord with a forehand cross-court forcing Tiafoe in. His sliding drop shot then forced Shelton to slide in, and his attempted lob was inches away from being a winner – until Tiafoe managed to stretch high up above his head and get the ball back in to win the point. Shelton spun around looking stunned while Tiafoe fist-pumped and took in the crowd’s applause.
Play went with serve throughout an entertaining first set featuring lovely rallies mixed with frequent volleys and angled winners. Tiafoe saved a setpoint when serving at 4-5 down and forced the hold to 5-5. After Shelton held, Tiafoe double faulted at 30-30 to again gift Shelton a setpoint. Tiafoe hooked a forehand wide to hand his 21-year-old opponent a one-set lead. In truth it was a poor game: he had thrown in three unforced errors from 30-15 up.
Tiafoe struck back in the second set by breaking early for a 2-1 lead and then holding serve more easily. He took the set after a powerful double-handed cross court backhand which Shelton could not retrieve and the match was all square.
With the match now into a decider, this time it was Shelton who broke serve early for a 3-1 lead, and he soon went on to serve out to love with his big lefty serve out wide followed by a wrong-footing, forehand drive-volley winner.
Eleven aces and a huge 83% of first-serve points won helped the 6’4” Atlanta native to close out the match after two hours and fifteen minutes. Shelton, who’s dad Bryan once reached as high as 55 in the men’s rankings, was very gracious in his post-match victory speech, paying tribute to Tiafoe’s challenging journey into the sport.
“You’ve been such an inspiration to kids, people of colour in our sport, just an amazing representation,” Shelton said. “You’ve been that guy to always put on for us and always be selfless, thinking about others, kids younger than you. So, thanks for everything that you do for our sport and people who look like you and me.”
