Following a rough March, Ben Shelton has found his groove on the tennis court to open April. Shelton won the BMW Open in Munich, Germany, a 500-point event on the ATP Tour.
Shelton defeated Emilio Nava 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 in the Round of 32; Alexander Blockx 6-4, 7-6(8) in the Round of 16; Joao Fonesca 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final; Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-final; and Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 in the final on Sunday.
It's the former Gator's second win of the 2026 season after claiming the Dallas Open championship at the end of February.
“I came out at a really high level,” Shelton said. “I have done that before against him, but the toughest thing is maintaining it, as he raises his level. I was able to do that in the second set, hanging in there when he played some great tennis, and I came through to win it in straight sets. I am happy with my performance this week. I got better and better as the week went on, and I am pleased with the work my team put in here.”
It's also the biggest clay-court title won by an American man since Andre Agassi won the Rome ATP Masters 1000 in 2002 — the same year Shelton was born. Because of his big serve, Shelton has grown a reputation as a player who's better on hard-court and grass. This victory proves that he's progressed his game over the past few years he's been on the ATP Tour.
“I have big ambitions on clay — a surface I want to keep improving on each year," he said. "It has become one of my favourite surfaces to play on."
Shelton held his No. 6 world ranking with the championship win, and he's moved up to No. 5 in the live rankings as of Monday. He'll play in the Madrid ATP Masters 1000 event this week with a chance to close in on No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who has 4,700 points and will not play in the tournament.
Shelton has a bye in the Round of 128 and will face the winner of Raphael Collignon versus Matteo Berrettini. Tomas Martin Etcheverry is the likely Round of 32 matchup, and Arthur Fils and Valentin Vacherot are the favorites to make it through to the Round of 16.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Ben Shelton wins ATP 500 BMW Open