Ben Shelton
Video: How Shelton won Munich
Relive the key moments from the American’s title run at the ATP 500 through video
April 19, 2026
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Ben Shelton and Flavio Cobolli embrace following the Munich final on Sunday.
By Sam Jacot
Ben Shelton became the first American in series history (since 2009) to win three ATP 500 titles on Sunday at the BMW Open by Bitpanda in Munich, where he downed Flavio Cobolli in the final.
ATPTour.com relives his journey to the trophy through videos of key moments in the week.
Shelton is pushed hard by countryman Emilio Nava in the first round, but prevailed 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 in his first match on European clay this year.
With a win in the locker, the 23-year-old then survived a second-round test against Alexander Blockx, who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2025. Shelton saved two set points in the second set to reach the quarter-finals in Munich, recording a 6-4, 7-6(8) victory.
Shelton’s greatest test yet awaited him in the quarter-finals on Friday, when he faced Brazilian Joao Fonseca in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Fonseca lifted a trophy on clay in Buenos Aires in 2025 and pushed Shelton hard throughout the one-hour, 50-minute clash. However, the 19-year-old ultimately fell short, with the No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Shelton earning a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win.
Into his second semi-final of the season after winning Dallas, Shelton put his foot down against Slovakian qualifier Alex Molcan to return to the Munich final. The lefty, who lost to Alexander Zverev in the championship match at the ATP 500 in 2025, dispatched Molcan 6-3, 6-4 to set a championship match clash with Flavio Cobolli.
In an entertaining final, Shelton served up two moments of magic at 5-1 in the opening set. The first came at 0/0, when the American leapt into the German sky to dispatch an overhead…
Shelton then found an absurd forehand winner from the boardings after Cobolli’s serve had forced him wide.
Shelton would go on to win the set and then the match 6-2, 7-5 to lift his fifth tour-level trophy and second on clay, after triumphing in Houston in 2025. The American is up three spots to fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin following his standout week in Germany. Shelton is now 17-5 on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
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