Ben Shelton secured the historic ATP 500 title in Germany with a straight-sets win over Flavio Cobolli last week. But more importantly, he broke a 24-year drought by capturing the 2026 Munich Open. For the first time since Andre Agassi lifted the Rome Masters trophy in 2002, an American man has won a clay-court tournament above the ATP 250 level.
Now, with the French Open just weeks away, former American tennis pro Sam Querrey knows that Shelton has exactly what it takes to be a threat for teh top seeds at Roland Garros.
Sam Querrey Reveals Why Ben Shelton’s Early Losses Won’t Derail His French Open
According to Querrey, the secret to Shelton’s breakthrough on clay isn’t physical strength, but an unshakable self-belief. “He’s just got that inner confidence, that inner swagger. … He wasn’t necessarily going in with a lot of confidence with what happened in the previous few weeks. But he has that inner confidence,” Querrey noted on Tennis Channel following the Munich final. “He lost early in Miami, early in Houston. But that’s his M.O. (modus operandi), right? He’ll throw in some of these early losses, and it doesn’t faze him.”
“Success on clay is coming back,” Shelton said after the tournament. “I’m looking forward to being part of this progression of U.S. men’s tennis on clay. On the women’s side, they have a lockdown… We as men have some more to do, but we’re heading in the right direction.”
Besides the title, the data from Munich can also boost Shelton’s chances in Paris.
The 23-year-old’s path to the trophy in Munich was a gauntlet of a few tough matches, although he didn’t have to face the home-country favorite and world No. 3 Alexander Zverev. Throughout the tournament, he won nearly 80% of his first-serve points, looked confident in high-risk, high-reward shots, and averaged 7 aces per match, an impressive feat on slow Munich clay.
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“At Roland Garros, you’re going to get some freezing days where the clay is going to play that slow and that soft, and Ben just showed that he could play through it,” added Querrey.
But before Paris, there are high-stakes Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. Although Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic had to skip Madrid due to injuries, the field at the Caja Mágica is stacked with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, alongside Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and the defending champion, Casper Ruud. Shelton will enter as the fourth seed and, with a first-round bye, begin his tournament in the second round (Round of 64) on April 24.
