ATP Tour

Shelton saves 3 championship points for gripping Dallas final win vs. Fritz

Ben Shelton brought the thunder when it mattered most on Sunday at the Nexo Dallas Open, where he saved three championship points to defeat Taylor Fritz and capture his first title of the season.

The 23-year-old roared back to earn an explosive 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory for his second ATP 500 trophy, saving all three championship points in a nervy 10th game of the decider. After that pivotal hold, Shelton dropped just three more points en route to winning his fourth ATP Tour title, and first indoors.

Big Ben strikes in Dallas 🤠@BenShelton claims the title on home soil after saving three match points to defeat compatriot Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 7-5! @NexoDallasOpen | #DALOpen pic.twitter.com/rVSowg1Zj7

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 15, 2026

“It feels amazing. I thank God, because I needed something super natural to end up winning this tournament with all the holes that I was in,” said Shelton, who came through four deciding-set battles in Dallas. “I feel grateful to play five matches out here with these crowds. The energy was amazing.

“I had to fight until the last minute. Fritz was playing very good tennis and I was struggling a lot with what he was throwing at me. I tried to be a competitor through and through, and I ended up coming out on top. I think it’s a testament to the work me and my team put in.”

In a high-octane matchup between the top two seeds that ebbed and flowed right until the last ball, Shelton showed supreme composure under pressure. He let slip a break lead in the final set and then looked down and out, but showed some gutsy tennis at the dying embers to dish Fritz a painful defeat.

With the one-hour, 51-minute victory, Shelton improved to 2-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fritz. Since the beginning of 2025, Shelton is 11-4 in deciding-set matches, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, including nine wins from a set down.

“Once I get a set, I feel pretty confident,” Shelton explained. “Once I’m able to sink my teeth in and feel like I have some sort of rhythm, I just start to loosen up and find my level. I think I’m also in shape — my fitness levels are good — and that probably plays into it.”

Despite falling short in the final, Fritz can reflect on another positive run to his 20th tour-level final. The American No. 1 now heads to the ATP 250 event in Delray Beach, where he is the top seed.

“It was a crazy match, a fun match to be a part of — until the end,” Fritz said with a wry smile during the trophy presentation. “Congrats to Ben and his team. He played great and in the end, he played the big points and important moments really well.”