Ben Shelton defeated Taylor Fritz on Sunday, Feb. 15, to win the ATP 500 tournament in Dallas, Texas. He showed incredible determination throughout the tournament, overcoming some difficult matches to reach the final. In the championship match, he defeated the first seed after losing the first set, mounting an impressive comeback.
This performance caught the attention of American legend Andy Roddick, who analyzed it on the latest episode of his podcast.
Andy Roddick Has All Praise for Ben Shelton’s Dallas Performance Against Taylor Fritz
Shelton defeated Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the fourth ATP title and second ATP 500 title of his career on Sunday in Dallas. The top-ranked American executed a near-perfect performance in the first set, looking to close out the match in straight sets.
However, the second-ranked American stepped up his game in the second set and took control of the match. He turned the tide in his favor and forced a deciding set, in which he left Fritz with absolutely no answers.
After the match, the statistics painted a different picture than what the final scoreline showed. On paper, Fritz played better than Shelton, serving precisely, returning better, and, in fact, winning more points than his opponent. What made the difference was that Shelton played smarter than Fritz, winning the more important points and launching bullet-like serves at his opponent when required.
Roddick acknowledged this impressive performance by Shelton on the latest episode of his Served podcast. Speaking of the consecutive three-set matches that the World No. 9 played, he said, “Ben Shelton grinded through like four three-setters in a row, winning kind of those gross tough matches. I like that a lot. I like winning six in the third, and then I like following up the next day, winning five in the third. I don’t think his fitness is in question.”
Then he shed light on the statistics of the match. “He actually won a bunch more second serve return points against Fritz than Fritz won. Fritz won more points in that match, won 51% of the points. That’s tennis. You win 51%, go home in second.”
Roddick did mention that this wasn’t Shelton’s best performance, yet he managed to win the tournament against the World No. 8. Concluding his assessment, the former World No. 1 said, “I just like the way he was managing through. I don’t think he had his best stuff all week. And when you’re winning 500s without your best stuff, I view that as a lot of progress. I like the way he went about that.”
Interestingly, with this tournament win, Shelton became the first American man to win more than two career titles above the 250 level after Roddick himself. Fritz, who has a total of 10 career titles, has never won more than two tournaments above the 250 level, nor has any other American man.
Shelton’s Technical Masterpiece Against Fritz
Fritz was playing at a different level in the first set, landing 72% of his first serves and winning all 18 points. He struck 6 aces while hitting 11 winners in just the first set, stunning Shelton, leaving him looking for answers. With the help of an early break, he took the set 6-3.
However, in the second set, Shelton remembered he is the second-ranked player from his country and stands just behind Fritz on the ATP Ranking List. He was raining down bullets on the top seed, striking 10 aces in the entire set with a total of 13 winners.
Even though he committed more unforced errors, he compensated with his serving, landing 88% of his first serves and winning 66% of those points, while winning 75% of second-serve points. He broke Fritz late in the eighth game to then serve out for the set.
The third set proved crucial, as both players needed to deliver their best to take the title home. However, Fritz had a slight edge over Shelton, who was ready to close out the match in the tenth game.
With the second seed serving, Fritz had three match points, but Shelton managed to save them all and then immediately broke Fritz in the next game to gain a mental advantage in the matchup. While serving for the championship, Shelton rushed to a 40-love lead, but Fritz saved two match points before the second seed eventually won the title.
