Zverev Defeats Shelton To Reach Stuttgart Open Final
German top seed Alexander Zverev recorded a 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/1) victory over Ben Shelton in the semifinals of the Stuttgart Open on Saturday to set up a final clash with Taylor Fritz.
Zverev and Shelton tested each other in a tight encounter before the German played a near flawless tiebreak to clinch a deserved win in a tie that lasted for two hours, and stretch his career win-loss record over the American to 3-0.
The 28-year-old earned 15 aces, 35 winners and did not face a break point in front of his home crowd to reach his first grasscourt final in eight years.
Zverev was delighted to qualify for his first final on the grass court since 2017.
He said: “I’m super happy to be in the final, it’s my first grasscourt final since 2017. 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.”
Despite the defeat, Shelton is set to make his top 10 debut in the ATP rankings on Monday.
In the first semifinal, Fritz, ranked seventh in the world, sent down 10 aces and 23 winners, winning 86 per cent of his first-serve points to knock out Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger Aliassime 4-6 6-7(7/5).
Fritz was delighted to book a final place in Stuttgart.
He said: “The claycourt season wasn’t the best for me, so I came here more motivated to start the grass season off well. 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.”
Fritz is eyeing a fourth grass court title, as he looks to continue to build momentum towards Wimbledon, where the 27-year-old is a twice quarterfinalist.
He holds a 7-5 head-to-head win-loss record against Zverev heading into Sunday’s final.
Zverev Defeats Shelton To Reach Stuttgart Open Final is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
