Taylor Fritz recently shared his thoughts on his and Ben Shelton’s performance in the trophy heist challenge at the 2025 ATP Finals. In addition to the American duo, players like Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz also participated in this challenge.
This year marks Fritz’s third appearance at the season-ending tournament, having previously competed in 2022 and 2024. Shelton, on the other hand, made his tournament debut this year.
Taylor Fritz Reacts to His and Ben Shelton’s Performance During ’Trophy Heist at ATP Finals 2025
Fritz is seeded sixth at the 2025 ATP Finals and began his campaign with a victory over Lorenzo Musetti, winning 6-3, 6-4 in his first group stage match. However, he later lost to Carlos Alcaraz with a score of 7-6(2), 5-7, 3-6 in his second group stage match. Meanwhile, Shelton began his tournament with a loss, falling to the third-seeded Zverev, with a score of 3-6, 6-7(6).
Before the season-ending tournament began, the six players were divided into pairs for the trophy heist challenge. Fritz and Shelton teamed up, while Zverev was paired with de Minaur, and Sinner was partnered with Alcaraz. In this challenge, players had to solve clues to find keys that would unlock the ATP Finals trophy, which was secured with chains and multiple locks.
Zverev and de Minaur were the fastest pair to unlock all the chains and reveal the trophy, while Sinner and Alcaraz finished as the runners-up. Unfortunately, Fritz and Shelton took the longest to solve the clues and find the keys, ultimately finishing last.
Reacting to his and Shelton’s performance in the trophy heist challenge, Fritz commented that he felt “sabotaged.”
“We were sabotaged @benshelton,” Fritz commented.
Meanwhile, de Minaur celebrated his and Zverev’s victory.
“Easy du @alexzverev123,” de Minaur commented.
Last year at the ATP Finals, Fritz was the runner-up after losing to Sinner in the final.
Who Will Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton Face Next at the 2025 ATP Finals?
Following his loss to Alcaraz in the second group stage match at the 2025 ATP Finals, Fritz is set to face de Minaur in the final group stage match of the tournament.
De Minaur, seeded seventh, began his campaign with a defeat, losing to Alcaraz with a scoreline of 6-7(5), 2-6 in the first round-robin match. In his second group stage match, he faced Musetti and lost again, this time with a score of 5-7, 6-3, 5-7.
Fritz and de Minaur have played against each other ten times on the ATP Tour, with each player winning five matches. Their most recent matchup was in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, where the American emerged victorious 6-3, 6-4.
On the other hand, after his loss to Zverev in the first group stage match at the ATP Finals, Shelton will go up against Félix Auger-Aliassime in his second group stage match. The Canadian also lost his first match in the tournament, falling to the defending champion and top seed Sinner, with a score of 7-5, 6-1.
Shelton and Auger-Aliassime have faced each other only once, in the third round of the 2024 French Open, which the latter won with a score of 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
