Shelton Hopes Munich Triumph Sparks US Men’s Clay Revival Before French Open

Ben Shelton hopes munich triumph can kickstart US men's clay revival 

Ben Shelton’s Munich triumph ends US men’s clay drought at higher-level events. He joins Agassi, Roddick, Querrey, Korda on clay abroad. 

After Munich title, Ben Shelton says clay is now a favourite surface. US men look to end Grand Slam drought dating to Roddick’s 2003 US Open...

Ben Shelton said his Munich Open win on Sunday laid down a clay-court marker for US men, as the world No. 6 became the first American to claim an event above ATP 250 level since Andre Agassi’s 2002 Rome Masters triumph.

Shelton’s 6-2, 7-5 win over Flavio Cobolli also made him the fifth American this century to win a clay-court title outside the United States, joining Agassi, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, and Sebastian Korda.

The 23-year-old said the “huge” triumph underlined his ambitions ahead of the French Open, which starts May 24.

“Moving forward I have big ambitions for the clay courts, a surface I want to get better on each year. It's become one of my favourite surfaces to play on,” Shelton said.

While the American women have had plenty of success on the sport’s slowest surface, with Coco Gauff winning the French Open crown last year, attention will now turn to whether the US men can make their own mark in Paris.

With Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe reaching the Roland Garros quarter-finals last year, Shelton said things are looking up as American men try to end a Grand Slam drought dating to 2003, when Roddick won the hard-court US Open.

“Success on clay is coming back,” he added.

The first American since @AndreAgassi to... 🇺🇸

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“I'm looking forward to being part of this ‌progression of US men's tennis on clay.

“On the women's side, they have a lockdown as they won the French Open last year. We as men have some more to ⁠do but we're ⁠heading in the right ‌direction.”