Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz were involved in an epic duel at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle on Friday, with the latter coming out on top after three tiebreaks.
Brad Gilbert, the former coach of Coco Gauff, Andre Agassi, and Andy Roddick, has now weighed in on the fascinating nature of their quarterfinal match that Fritz won 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3).
Coco Gauff’s Former Coach Brad Gilbert Analyzes Ben Shelton-Taylor Fritz Thriller
Shelton arrived in the match on a 6-0 run, having also beaten Fritz in the final of the Stuttgart Open in three sets last week. However, it was the 28-year-old who came out on top this time around, firing 24 aces en route to an incredible win in a match that lasted nearly three hours.
Fritz also saved one match point as he claimed his first win over a top-10 player since the turn of the year. Gilbert shared some insights into the match and grass-court tennis via a vlog post on X.
“What’s funny is, the grass when the players hit, the court is slow. But the serve and return are still big on grass, especially the return. If servers hit their spots, then it’s much more difficult to return. Players still miss so many returns. I feel the biggest adjustment besides movement is shortening up their swing and blocking first-serve returns in play,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert further detailed how Shelton was unlucky to lose to Fritz, having beaten his compatriot in two finals this year. He believed that the 23-year-old would be “frustrated” with the way the match unfolded.
“That was one of those classic matches. Three tiebreakers, no break. Shelton loses the match; doesn’t even face a break point. Gotta be so frustrating. Hadn’t lost a match on grass; had been 6-0. So, a huge win for Fritz, who hadn’t had a stellar year, battling injury. But you still feel like with Sinner not in these tournaments… lots of opportunities,” he added.
morning from Malibu, grass thoughts 💭 @Tennis pic.twitter.com/pA1RGMDnZJ
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) June 19, 2026
As Gilbert mentioned, the result will be a big boost for Fritz, who has had to deal with knee injury and a high-profile break-up with Morgan Riddle in recent months. The California native holds a strong record on grass courts, with five titles to his name.
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Fritz, who made the semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships last year, will face Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the Terra Wortmann Open. Meanwhile, Shelton is still in contention for the title in the men’s doubles category alongside Flavio Cobolli.
He will hope to quickly move on from this loss and continue his impressive progress going into the Wimbledon Championships. Shelton made the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year and appears to be in good form going into the third Grand Slam of the year.
