Match Report
Shelton wins Munich title to become first American since Agassi to do this…
Second seed becomes first American to win three ATP 500 crowns (since 2009)
April 19, 2026
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Ben Shelton in action on Sunday in Munich.
By Sam Jacot
Ben Shelton clinched his fifth ATP Tour title and second on clay on Sunday at the BMW Open by Bitpanda in Munich, where he moved past fourth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5.
The second seed lost to Alexander Zverev in the championship match at the ATP 500 event 12 months ago, but ensured history would not repeat itself against World No. 16 Cobolli to record his first Top 20 win on clay.
“I came out at a really high level and have done that before against him,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “The toughest thing is maintaining it as he raises his level. I managed to do that in the second set and played some great tennis. I am happy with my performance this week. I got better and better as the week went on and I am happy with the work me and the team put in.”
Shelton, a champion on clay in Houston in 2024, is the first American to win a title on the surface above ATP 250 level since Agassi in Rome in 2002. The 23-year-old now leads Cobolli 4-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“I have big ambitions for the clay courts,” Shelton added. “It is a surface I want to get better on each year. It is slowly becoming one of my favourite surfaces to play on.”
Shelton is the first American man in series history (since 2009) to win three ATP 500 titles, while he is just the fifth American to win a tour-level crown on clay outside of the United States this century. The 23-year-old joins Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey and Sebastian Korda.
Shelton broke Cobolli’s serve in the first game and then crucially fended off six break points in his first service game, setting the tone early on. The Italian Cobolli defeated Zverev in the semi-finals and raised his level in the second set, but was unable to damage the Shelton delivery. The American, who did not face another break point after that opening game, according to Infosys ATP Stats, rallied from 0/30 on serve at 4-5 and then broke Cobolli again when the fourth seed struck a costly double fault.
In a fun match, Shelton demonstrated his agility with a stunning overhead and an absurd return from the courtside boardings in the same game at 5-5 in the first set. After sealing victory in 90 minutes, Shelton celebrated with his team courtside.
Shelton earned three-set wins against Emilio Nava and Joao Fonseca in Munich, while he overcame Alexander Blockx and Alex Molcan in straight sets. The 23-year-old is No. 6 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, just 30 points behind World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
