Ben Shelton Saves Three Match Points to Beat Taylor Fritz!
Locker Room
February 16, 2026
Ben Shelton said it took something supernatural to triumph in Dallas.
And there certainly seemed to be something surreal about the way he fought back to defeat compatriot Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
American number one Fritz had three match points at 5-4 in the third. He had a big enough say in two of those match points to be able to close out.
But US number two Shelton simply refused to tighten or give up at the most crucial moments. He remained audacious and highly entertaining.
Ben Shelton’s flamboyant self-belief will be on show at Wimbledon 2026 – and we can’t wait to see him challenge Taylor Fritz and the rest of the big guns again!
Once the crisis had been negotiated in Dallas, Shelton forced home the psychological advantage with three games in a row.
He did misfire on two match points of his own before he finally put the match to bed and took his fourth title. But that summoning of momentum ultimately carried him all the way to the finishing line.
It wasn’t the first comeback Ben had engineered and handled with increasing maturity in this tournament.
He’d lost the first set against Denis Shapovalov in the semi-final. It was the same story against Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarters.
No wonder Shelton said this after beating Fritz in the final: ‘I needed something supernatural to win this tournament, all the holes I was in.’
Ben Shelton and his seemingly supernatural tennis powers will be a major attraction at Wimbledon 2026!
Is this also a changing of the guard in America? Is 23-year-old Shelton taking over from 28-year-old Fritz as top dog?
We shall see over the next few months. A fascinating subplot in the build-up to Wimbledon 2026!
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