FRISCO, Texas — The top-seeded player, Taylor Fritz, overcame Marin Cilic in two sets, while the second seed, Ben Shelton, made a comeback against the reigning champion Denis Shapovalov on Saturday evening, establishing a Dallas Open championship match featuring the two leading American players globally.
Fritz served 22 aces en route to his 7-6(5), 7-6(3) triumph, whereas Shelton revitalized his performance with a brilliant crosscourt forehand shot when he was down three break points at the start of the second set, ultimately securing a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) success.
Taylor Fritz, aged 28, holds the seventh position worldwide, two places higher than Shelton, whose recent performance includes reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals, where he was defeated by Jannik Sinner without winning a set.
Fritz, who has claimed 10 ATP Tour championships, and Shelton have each won one of their prior two encounters. Shelton will be competing for his fourth tour title in Sunday’s final.
“Is this the championship match you all wish to witness?” Shelton inquired, eliciting enthusiastic applause from the spectators within the indoor football facility, which serves as the Dallas Cowboys’ practice grounds at their corporate base. “I am extremely eager for this confrontation.”
Shelton achieved a turnaround from being a set behind for the second consecutive contest, having previously defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarterfinal round.
The 23-year-old player was trailing by a set and contending with three break points at a 1-1 score in the second set when his crosscourt winning shot invigorated him. Subsequently, he earned two set points against the serve of the seventh-seeded Shapovalov and successfully converted the second, compelling a decisive final set.
Shelton secured three out of the final four points during the tiebreaker, thereby finalizing his win with an additional forehand shot that was unreturnable.
Fritz possessed three opportunities to win the first set during the tiebreaker and three chances to win the match in the second against his unranked opponent, Cilic.
The player who was a finalist at the 2024 US Open concluded the initial set by delivering his third consecutive ace, following Cilic’s successful defense of two set points.
A single instance of Cilic’s eight double faults, a statistic entirely absent from Fritz’s game, provided Fritz with an initial advantage in the subsequent tiebreaker. Fritz converted his inaugural match point after the 2014 US Open victor’s service return landed beyond the baseline.
Cilic, aged 37, utilized his formidable serve to navigate various challenging moments throughout the contest, which saw a total of 38 aces. Cilic, aiming for his milestone 600th singles win in his professional career, successfully fended off all five break points he faced, whereas Fritz encountered no break points in what marked his third win in four matches against Cilic.
