American Ben Shelton clinched his fifth ATP Tour title on Sunday, April 19, after taking down Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 at the BMW Open by Bitpanda in Munich.
"I am happy with my performance this week," said Shelton following his win. "I got better and better as the week went on and I am happy with the work me and the team put in."
What's even more impressive is that Shelton managed to earn this win on clay, a surface Americans have notoriously struggled on. In fact, Shelton's win, his first on clay in top-20 play, was the first American victory on clay at an ATP level above 250 since Andre Agassi did so in Rome in 2002.
Shelton said clay is becoming one of his favorite surfaces to play on. He claimed, "I have big ambitions for the clay courts. It is a surface I want to get better on each year."
Jan. 18: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in action against Adam Walton of Australia in the first round of the men's singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park.Jan. 18: Austria's Anastasia Potapova in action during her first round match against Netherlands' Suzan Lamens.Jan. 18: Emma Raducanu of United Kingdom celebrates her victory over Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand in the first round of the women's singles at the Australian Open at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne Park.Jan. 18: Sebastian Korda of United States in action against Michael Zheng of United States in the first round of the men's singles at the Australian Open.Jan. 18: Alexander Zverev of Germany plays a backhand against Gabriel Diallo of Canada in the Men's Singles First Round during day one of the 2026 Australian Open.Jan. 18: Venus Williams reacts on a point to Serbia's Olga Danilovic during their women's singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.Jan. 18: Hailey Baptiste of United States in action against Taylor Towsend of United States in the first round of the women's singles at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.Jan. 18: Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez celebrates after winning her first round match against Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in action against Jenson Brooksby of United States in the first round of the men's singles.Jan. 18: Frances Tiafoe of United States in action against Jason Kubler of Australia in the first round of the men's singles at the Australian Open at John Cain Arena in Melbourne Park.Jan. 18: Michael Zheng of United States in action against Sebastian Korda of United States.Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine ices her ankle during her match against Elsa Jacquemot of France in the first round.Jan. 18: France's Corentin Moutet serves against Australia's Tristan Schoolkate during their men's singles match on day one.Jan. 18: Gabriel Diallo of Canada serves against Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Men's Singles First Round.Jan. 18: Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo serves to China's Zhang Zhizhen during their men's singles match on day one.Jan. 17: Ash Barty of Australia, Roger Federer of Switzerland, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Andre Agassi of the United States are interviewed after the Opening Ceremony exhibition match ahead of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.Jan. 17: Roger Federer of Switzerland, left, and Andre Agassi of the United States laugh during the Opening Ceremony ahead of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.1 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in action against Adam Walton of Australia in the first round of the men's singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park.1 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in action against Adam Walton of Australia in the first round of the men's singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park.2 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Austria's Anastasia Potapova in action during her first round match against Netherlands' Suzan Lamens.3 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Emma Raducanu of United Kingdom celebrates her victory over Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand in the first round of the women's singles at the Australian Open at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne Park.4 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Sebastian Korda of United States in action against Michael Zheng of United States in the first round of the men's singles at the Australian Open.5 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Alexander Zverev of Germany plays a backhand against Gabriel Diallo of Canada in the Men's Singles First Round during day one of the 2026 Australian Open.6 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Venus Williams reacts on a point to Serbia's Olga Danilovic during their women's singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.7 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Hailey Baptiste of United States in action against Taylor Towsend of United States in the first round of the women's singles at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.8 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez celebrates after winning her first round match against Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.9 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenAlexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in action against Jenson Brooksby of United States in the first round of the men's singles.10 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Frances Tiafoe of United States in action against Jason Kubler of Australia in the first round of the men's singles at the Australian Open at John Cain Arena in Melbourne Park.11 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Michael Zheng of United States in action against Sebastian Korda of United States.12 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenMarta Kostyuk of Ukraine ices her ankle during her match against Elsa Jacquemot of France in the first round.13 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: France's Corentin Moutet serves against Australia's Tristan Schoolkate during their men's singles match on day one.14 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Gabriel Diallo of Canada serves against Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Men's Singles First Round.15 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 18: Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo serves to China's Zhang Zhizhen during their men's singles match on day one.16 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 17: Ash Barty of Australia, Roger Federer of Switzerland, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Andre Agassi of the United States are interviewed after the Opening Ceremony exhibition match ahead of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.17 / 17See the best moments from the 2026 Australian OpenJan. 17: Roger Federer of Switzerland, left, and Andre Agassi of the United States laugh during the Opening Ceremony ahead of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.Ben Shelton in elite companyShelton's win also makes him one of just five Americans to win a tour event on clay outside the U.S. since 2000, joining Agassi, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey and Sebastian Korda.
Furthermore, since 2009, Shelton is the only American ever to win three ATP 500 titles.
Shelton was dominant on the serve, earning four aces throughout the match. He also saved every break point he faced, while converting three of his own.
Cobolli certainly didn't go down easy. In fact, he saved eight set points, six of which were on his own serve, before falling in the set. As Shelton put it, "The toughest thing is maintaining it as (Cobolli) raises his level. I managed to do that in the second set and played some great tennis."
Shelton ranks No. 6 in the ATP Live Tour Rankings. His win at the BMW Open granted him 170 points, moving him just 30 points behind No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Shelton is the highest-ranking American, with Taylor Fritz ranking No. 7 currently.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ben Shelton becomes first American to win three ATP 500 titles