Ben Shelton does the unthinkable in Munich, ends 16-year-old historic American drought
Ben Shelton has etched his name into the history books of American tennis by becoming the first man from his country to achieve a rare feat. The rare feat in question was achieved at the ATP 500 event, the 2025 BMW Open in Munich.
Seeded second, Shelton kicked off his campaign by turning around a one-set deficit against Borna Gojo to win 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(3), following which he defeated the dangerous Botic Van de Zandschulp 7-6(1), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. The American clinched a strong 6-4, 6-3 win against Luciano Darderi to book his ticket to the semifinal and also achieved an unprecedented feat in the process.
Ben Shelton became the first American man to reach the semifinal of a clay-court ATP 500 tournament since the format's inception in 2009, meaning he defeated his compatriots Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda, and others, and also former American stars such as John Isner, Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, and others.
It is worth noting that the Americans usually tend to perform much better on hard courts as opposed to clay, which could be the reason behind this feat.
The 22-year-old's talent is no secret to the tennis world, however, he is aware that he is yet to reach the pinnacle of his potential and is working towards it.
Ben Shelton touchea upon the development of his game after reaching BMW Open 2025 SF
During the on-court interview, Ben Shelton opened up about how he was delighted with how far his tennis game had come in the past few years. However, he explicitly stated he was still working towards becoming the best version of himself.
"Not gonna lie, feel pretty good. Moving around, sliding, getting to dropshots, defending, playing offensive, I was kind of like deer on ice a couple of years ago."
"I've evolved for sure. Yeah, just trying to keep getting better with every match and every day. I'm not the player I want to be yet, but I'm working towards it for sure," Shelton said.
Shelton will face fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo in the semifinal of the BMW Open, in what will be the duo's second meeting. The American won their sole meeting, which came Indian Wells Masters last year.
Cerundolo defeated the defending champion Jan-Lennard Struff, Alexander Shevchenko, and David Goffin, all in straight sets, en route to the final 4.