FRISCO, Texas (AP) \u2014 Ben Shelton saved three match points before finishing another rally at the Dallas Open, beating top-seeded Taylor Fritz in three sets for the title Sunday in a matchup of the world\u2019s highest-ranked American men.<\/p>\n
The No. 2 seed and No. 9 player in the ATP rankings lost the first set in each of the last three rounds of the tournament, this time coming back for a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Fritz in the first meeting of the top seeds since the event moved to Dallas in 2022.<\/p>\n
Shelton improved to 4-0 in ATP finals and beat Fritz, ranked seventh in the world, after the pair had split their first two meetings. The 23-year-old\u2019s title came after he reached the Australian Open quarterfinals last month, losing in straight sets to Jannik Sinner.<\/p>\n
After saving three match points to get the third set to 5-5, Shelton had three chances to close out Fritz while serving for the match. Fritz saved the first two, but the 10-time ATP champion couldn\u2019t match his opponent by saving the third.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a crazy match to be a part of,\u201d Shelton said. \u201cI thought the level was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fritz\u2019s dominant serving from a semifinal win over Marin Cilic \u2014 the 28-year-old didn\u2019t even face a break point while winning both tiebreakers in a straight-sets victory \u2014 carried over to the first set of the final. Fritz won 12 of his first 13 service points while breaking Shelton in the left-hander\u2019s first service game.<\/p>\n
Shelton turned the match late in the second set by breaking Fritz\u2019s serve for a 5-3 lead, then did it again early in the third set. <\/p>\n
Fritz broke back for 3-3 was leading 5-4 on Shelton\u2019s serve when he had three chances to close out the match. Shelton got to deuce with an overhead smash from the net and a backhand winner that caught Fritz going the wrong way.<\/p>\n
On Fritz\u2019s last match point, Shelton converted a volley to get back to deuce and went on to hold serve with a backhand volley into the open court with both players at the net. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019d told me I lost after having three match points, I think I would expect to be a lot more upset,\u201d Fritz said. \u201cIt hurts, but I feel like it doesn\u2019t hurt as much as I would expect it to because I don\u2019t really have a lot of regrets with how I played those match points.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fritz\u2019s double-fault \u2014 the only one of the match for either player \u2014 gave Shelton three break points at 5-5. Shelton converted the second break chance when Fritz\u2019s forehand went long.<\/p>\n
An ace on a second serve gave Shelton three match points, and he converted the second when Fritz\u2019s lunging return attempt on Shelton\u2019s approach shot fell short.<\/p>\n
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