Ben Shelton saved two match points in a triple tie-break thriller on Saturday to face fellow American title holder Taylor Fritz in the final of the Stuttgart Open grass court tournament.
Top seed Shelton came through his semi-final 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (16-14), 7-6 (8-6) against Czech Jiri Lehecka. Shelton saved the match points in the dramatic second set tie-break before clinching matters after 2 hours 52 minutes.
“Sometimes tennis doesn’t go to plan. I lost the first set in every single match I played," Shelton said after his third straight comeback win.
"That can make things difficult, but there are a lot of ways to win a match. I’ve been choosing the most difficult route, but my opponents have played great matches. Shoutout to Jiri. I thought he played an outstanding match today. I thought the level was really high.”
Shelton is now bidding for a second 2026 title in Germany, having won the Munich clay-court tournament in April, and third of the year, having beaten Fritz in the Dallas final in February - after saving three match points.
Fritz meanwhile showed his qualities in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, a twice winner of the Halle tournament on the same surface.
"It’s always cool to defend a title. To get my first title of the year, like I did here last year, would be a great way to get the grass season started,” Fritz said.
Fritz is the first title holder to reach the final in Stuttgart the next year since Austria's Thomas Muster in 1995 and 1996. Muster won the event, then held on clay, in both years.
Stuttgart is among the first tune-up events for Wimbledon, which starts on June 29.
