ATP Tour

Zverev, Fritz set blockbuster Stuttgart final

Alexander Zverev moved to within one victory of capturing his maiden grass-court title on Saturday at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, where he edged Ben Shelton to reach the final.

The top-seeded German delivered an assured display to prevail 7-6(8), 7-6(1) in a serve-dominated semi-final clash at the ATP 250 event. Zverev, who struck 36 winners and did not face a break point, is into his third tour-level final on the surface after he reached that stage in Halle in 2016 and 2017.

“I’m super happy to be in the final, it’s my first grass-court final since 2017,” said Zverev after his two-hour win. “It’s been eight years. I actually really like playing on the surface. I’m happy to be in the final in Germany again, I’m looking forward to it.”

And the final is set... 🍿

Zverev overcomes Shelton 7-6(8) 7-6(1) to set up a spectacular showdown with Fritz 🔥@boss__open | #BOSSOPEN pic.twitter.com/aKyZcp3O91

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 14, 2025

After reaching his third major final at the Australian Open in January, Zverev fell to opening-round defeats in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo, but responded by claiming his first title of the season in Munich. The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings can look ahead to another championship-match clash on home soil, where he faces second seed Taylor Fritz, who leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 7-5.

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Shelton saved all six break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, but was picked off with ease in the second-set tie-break, when he often charged the net in a last-gasp attempt to salvage the match. The American can, however, reflect on a milestone week in Stuttgart, where he confirmed his debut inside the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings for this coming Monday.

Fritz sealed his spot in his first tour-level final since last November by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6(5) on Saturday lunchtime. The American went 3-4 during the clay season, and dropped three spots to No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but he has responded by advancing to the Stuttgart final without dropping a set.

“The clay-court season wasn’t the best for me, so I came here more motivated to start the grass season off well,” said Fritz. “I’m super happy that I’ve been able to start it off with a final.

“I’m locked in and ready to go. Once I start winning a couple of matches on grass and start feeling good, all the other things start clicking for me.”

A three-time champion in Eastbourne (2019, 2022, 2024), Fritz is no stranger to success on the grass. While Zverev is chasing his first trophy on the surface, Fritz can also look to their recent Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry for motivation.

The 27-year-old has won his past four meetings against Zverev, including in the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin last year, when the American advanced to his most recent tour-level final.