Ben Shelton beat Arthur Fils 6-3, 7-6 to take his place in the Basel Open final.
Shelton beat Andrey Rublev on Friday under some fairly unusual circumstances to advance to the semi-finals against the in-form Arthur Fils.
The 22-year-old is looking to bring home his second title of the year at the Basel Open after Shelton won in Texas earlier in the year.
Shelton has been competitive in recent weeks falling most recently to world number one Jannik Sinner at the Shanghai Masters.
The young American has impressed since his debut on the ATP Tour, and has just achieved a very impressive feat.
With his win over Fils in the semi-finals, Shelton became the first American player to reach the final in Basel since Andre Agassi in 1998.
Agassi, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, was one of the top players whilst Shelton was growing up, and matching this record will undoubtedly mean a lot to the 22-year-old.
Shelton will, however, hope that he fares slightly better than Agassi did all those years ago, as the American lost out to Tim Henman in four sets.
Year | Name | Result |
1990 | John McEnroe | Won |
1991 | John McEnroe | Lost |
1994 | Patrick McEnroe | Lost |
1995 | Jim Courier | Won |
1996 | Pete Sampras | Won |
1998 | Andre Agassi | Lost |
2024 | Ben Shelton | TBD |
You have to go back a further two years for an American success story at the Swiss indoors when Pete Sampras took down Hendrik Dreekman to win the title.
Despite his impressive form in 2024, Shelton has left things just a little too late and is unable to directly qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.
A win in Basel and Paris next week could take him close however, and with Rumours of Novak Djokovic skipping the ATP Finals, there could still be a chance for the American.
Shelton would need other results to go his way, and would certainly need to win on Sunday and at Paris Bercy, but there is still an outside chance for him to make it to Turin.
What is more likely, however, is that Shelton uses this strong week, to propel him forward in 2025 as he looks to push toward the ATP top ten.
Ben Shelton will face off against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the final of the Basel Open on Sunday.
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