FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Top seed Taylor Fritz beat Marin Cilic in straight sets and No. 2 Ben Shelton beat defending champion Denis Shapovalov on Saturday night, setting up a Dallas Open final between the world’s top-ranked Americans.
Fritz hit 22 aces in his 7-6(5), 7-6(3) victory, while Shelton sparked his game with a scintillating crosscourt forehand while facing three break points early in the second set and securing a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) victory.
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Fritz, 28, is ranked seventh in the world, two places ahead of Shelton, who is coming off an Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Fritz, a 10-time ATP Tour champion, and Shelton shared their first two meetings. Shelton has three tour titles.
“Are you telling me this is the finale you want to see?” Shelton asked, drawing cheers from fans at the indoor football stadium that is also the Dallas Cowboys’ practice field at the club’s headquarters. “I’m super excited for this match.”
Shelton came back from a set down for the second straight match, after beating Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarterfinals.
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The 23-year-old trailed by a set and faced three break points at 1-1 in the second when the crosscourt winner set him up. He later earned two set points on seventh-seeded Shapovalov’s serve and converted the second to force the deciding set.
Shelton won three of the final four points in the tiebreaker, securing the victory with another forehand winner.
Fritz had three set points in the first tiebreaker and three match points in the second against unseeded Cilic.
The 2024 US Open finalist closed the first with his third consecutive ace after Cilic saved two set points.
One of Cilic’s eight double faults — Fritz didn’t have one — gave Fritz an early opening in the second tiebreaker. Fritz won his first match point when the 2014 US Open champion’s return of serve went long.
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Cilic, 37, used his powerful serve to escape several tough moments in a 38-ace match. Cilic, who was seeking his 600th career singles victory, saved all five break points against him, while Fritz faced none in his third victory in four meetings with Cilic.
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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
