Fritz avenges Stuttgart, edging Shelton in a match without a single break

American fifth seed Taylor Fritz turned the tables on compatriot Ben Shelton on Friday, coming through a contest settled entirely on tie-breaks 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3) to reach the semi-finals of the Terra Wortmann Open – five days after losing to him in the Stuttgart final.

Not a single break of serve was landed across two hours and 49 minutes. Fritz did not face a break point all match; Shelton carved out four but converted none, including one at 4-4 and two more at 5-5 in the decider, and was left to rue the chances after holding a match point of his own.

The third seed had led the second-set tie-break 3-0 and then 5-3, and served for the match at 7-6, but Fritz saved it and forced a third, eventually pulling clear in the final breaker to seal it.

Fritz’s first top-10 victory of 2026

The win was significant on more than one front. It was Fritz’s first top-10 victory of 2026, and a measure of revenge against an opponent who had beaten him in two finals this year, at Dallas in February and in Stuttgart last Sunday.

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Since the start of last season, Fritz and Shelton have recorded the most and second-most grass-court match wins on the ATP Tour, and little separated them again here.

Fritz had reached the last eight with wins over Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (6-2, 6-4) and Belgian Zizou Bergs (7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4), while Shelton came through against Ethan Quinn (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) and Italian Lorenzo Sonego (7-5, 6-3).

The defeat ended Shelton’s six-match grass-court winning streak and his bid to add the Halle title to the Stuttgart trophy he lifted last weekend.

Fritz will next face the winner of the quarter-final between German top seed Alexander Zverev and Belgian Raphael Collignon.ffinest