Ben Shelton produced has won the most dramatic final match of the early 2026 season, saving three championship points to defeat top-seeded Taylor Fritz 3-6 6-3 7-5 in the ATP 500 Dallas Open. It was one of three Sunday's finals of ATP events settled between two top seeds and the most dramatic of those. Shelton claimed his 4th career's title with that great comeback in decisive moments of Dallas final.
Road to the final
Shelton's path to the final was extremely bumpy. The second seed played four consecutive three-setters. Sunday's final was another thiriller after Saturday's semifinal against the reigning champion - Denis Shapovalov. After dropping the opening set 4-6, he responded with characteristic determination to level at one set apiece before edging a tight deciding set tiebreak 7-4. The match statistics revealed Shelton's exceptional serving under pressure - he saved 10 of 11 break points faced, a remarkable 91% success rate that kept him in contention throughout. His 8 aces complemented his defensive excellence, though he struggled to convert his return opportunities, managing just 1 of 6 break points. The victory continued an interesting pattern in Shelton's career - having beaten Adrian Mannarino earlier in the tournament, he maintained his perfect record of tournament victories when defeating the Frenchman, following his 2025 Canadian Open triumph.
Taylor Fritz had not any easier road, playing two third set's tiebreaks against his compatriots - Marcos Giron in first round and Sebastian Korda in quarterfinals. Korda was just two points away from eliminating Fritz, but the top seed came back from 3-5 in decisive tiebreak to win 4 points in a row and secure the semifinals spot. The 28 years-old has played 5 tiebreaks in whole the tournament, winning 4 of those.
Ice-Cold Shelton delivers championship drama
The final was a rollercoaster ride, but at first it looked like going on the way of Taylor Fritz. The older from Americans has quickly gained the early lead and controlled the opening set with one break advantage. Fritz was putting constant pressure in second set, having breakpoint chances in 3rd and 7th game, but Shelton endured to stay leveled. That got awarded with first break gained by the world number 9, who took the lead in second set and served for the decider settlement. That was a moment of struggle for Fritz, who lost another service game in 3rd game of decisive set. Shelton moved up by 3-1 in third set. Another plot twist happened then as Fritz broke back in 6th game, which had set up the thrilling end up of this encounter.
Serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the decider, Shelton faced three championship points and responded with stunning shot-making. His backhand winner to save the second championship point was particularly spectacular, demonstrating the aggressive mindset that carried him through the crucial moments. The gutsy second serve on the first match point and his continued attacking approach when everything was on the line epitomized his ice-cold temperament. Shelton faced more pressure points on serve (21 to 16), but showed the mental resilience to take the title, especially in decisive games. This was also a great serving fest as expected with Shelton's 16 and Fritz's 14 aces.
Ranking movements
Ben Shelton stays at 9th spot in ATP rankings, while Taylor Fritz drops to 8th, getting overtaken by Alex De Minaur who won the ATP 500 in Rotterdam. The differences are marginal, as Fritz is just 30 points behind the Aussie and just 200 points differ betweeen 6th and 9th place - that will surely shuffle in following weeks. Marin Cilic was another great performer of week in Dallas. The former world number 3 has advanced into semifinals, losing to Fritz in two tiebreaks. That lifts up the Croatian by 18 places to move into 43th place - an impressive improvement from the 37 years/old.