Shelton, Hurkacz, Berrettini kick off clay-court season with titles

Ben Shelton won an all-American showdown against Frances Tiafoe on Sunday afternoon, capturing his second ATP title and first on clay at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship. Shelton overcame eight double-faults with 11 aces and won 83 percent of his first-serve points while getting broken just once. He prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and 16 minutes.

Shelton is now 2-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series, having previously defeated Tiafoe in the U.S. Open quarterfinals last summer. Tiafoe was the defending champion in Houston.

“You’ve been such an inspiration to kids, people of color in our sport, just an amazing representation,” the 21-year-old told Tiafoe during the trophy ceremony. “You’ve been that guy to always put on for us and always be selfless, thinking about others, kids younger than you. So thanks for everything that you do for our sport and people who look like you and me.”

The European clay swing began at the Estoril open, where Hubert Hurkacz triumphed 6-3, 6-4 over Pedro Martinez.

“I’m so happy with my performance today,” Hurkacz assessed. “I’m proud that I found my serve and that definitely helped me a lot. Pedro is such a great competitor, an amazing battle last night. I needed to play really great tennis to compete with him and fortunately I did it.”

At the Grand Prix Hassan II, Matteo Berrettini’s comeback gained steam with his first title since Queen’s Club in 2022. The Italian, who missed the remainder of 2023 following the U.S. Open because of an ankle injury, overpowered defending champion Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 6-2. Berrettini had not yet won a main-tour match this season prior to arriving in Marrakech.

“It’s been a tough past couple of years, I would say, and thanks to [my team] I was able to overcome all the tough moments,” Berrettini said during the trophy ceremony. “My body wasn’t allowing me to play, so it’s thanks to [them] that I am here.

“[I also want to thank] all the people that made my comeback possible–all my friends, my family, people that were with me all the times when I was sad and injured, and I didn’t think I could make it. So thank you very much.”