Ben Shelton downs ‘Freight Train’ Denis Shapovalov in Dallas-San Francisco thriller to advance Taylor Fritz to ATP Tour finals

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Shelton shoots down ‘Freight Train’ Shapovalov in Dallas-San Francisco thriller to win final for Fritz

Fritz beat Cilic in first semi-final

February 15, 2026

Ben Shelton withstood a major test from left-hander Denis Shapovalov at the Nexo Dallas Open on Saturday, winning a late-set tiebreaker to advance to the final. The second seed defeated the defending champion 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

“It was a gritty win. Dennis deserves credit for his performance on the court,” Shelton said. “There’s a freight train coming your way.”

Second-seeded Shelton showed impressive resilience under pressure throughout the match. He saved 10 of the 11 break points he faced, including a crucial volley at 2-2 in the second set and another crucial save at 5-5 in the third set, according to Infosys ATP statistics. With this win, he takes a 4-0 lead in the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series.

Shelton will face top seed Taylor Fritz in the finals. It will be the first final between the tournament’s two seeds since 2018, when top-seeded Kevin Anderson defeated second-seeded Sam Querrey in New York, the tournament’s previous venue.

“I’ve really made a consistent effort to go into every game this year with the mindset that I want to win,” Shelton said. “I’ve been out there every game and put myself in the position I need to compete at the highest level.”

Fritz held off a resurgent Marin Cilic in the Nexo Dallas Open semifinals on Saturday.

In a closely contested match, the top seed mustered the courage to defeat the Croatian 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in a gripping two hours and two minutes, blasting 22 aces to defeat the 37-year-old.

“Really calm serve. I think when I feel calm and relaxed, that’s the most important thing, I serve well,” Fritz said in an on-court interview.

Both players dominated with big pitches in a game with no rest. Fritz faced no break points and fired 22 aces to Cilic’s 16, including four in the first-set tiebreak, according to Infosys ATP statistics. Although he failed to convert on all five of his break point chances, Fritz’s composure on serve ultimately paid off, winning 86 percent of his first serve points (48/56).

“This is something that every tennis player experiences when their opponent serves,” Fritz said. “You have some chances, you’re comfortable on serve and all of a sudden they get a break point and you might win. You get into a tiebreak and all of a sudden some returns come back and I just told myself to be ready in the tiebreak.”

With the win, Fritz leads 3-1 in the two-man Lexus ATP Head2Head series and reaches the finals on home soil for the first time since reaching the 2024 U.S. Open finals.

Cilic is hoping to reach an ATP final above 250 for the first time since winning the Queen’s Club title in 2018. With the semi-final in Dallas, the Croatian moved up 18 places to 43rd in the PIF ATP live rankings.