Ben Shelton wins maiden UTS title after impressive Frankfurt final against Ugo Humbert
American Ben Shelton ended a brilliant week with the Zeus Trophy in his hands as he became the 10th champion in UTS history, beating Frenchman Ugo Humbert in a final befitting a spectacular weekend’s tennis in Frankfurt.
“The Mountain” lived up to his name as he played big-time tennis, hitting blistering forehands to back up thunderous serves and claim a 10-19, 18-5, 15-11, 19-11 victory over a valiant Humbert.
“I put it up there as one of my best performances for sure,” said the world No 13.
Not only did Shelton secure a first UTS title, it also assured him of a place in the eight-man field for the UTS Grand Final in London (December 6-8). Humbert will be there, too, after a fabulous three days in which more than 18,000 fans came through the doors.
Andrey Rublev, who won the Oslo stage this year, and Gaël Monfils, who won in New York, are the other qualifiers, along with Alexander Bublik and Alex de Minaur, thanks to their Race rankings.
Sunday began with two pulsating semi-finals, Shelton coming from two quarters down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis “Kokki” in sudden death before Humbert took out Lorenzo Musetti, “The Illusionist” in four quarters.
In the final, the two left-handers then went toe to toe, banging down huge serves and slamming forehands at each other, waiting to see who would blink first.
In the end, it was Humbert who yielded in the face of a stunning performance from Shelton, one 209kmh serve showing the kind of mood “The Mountain” was in.
“That’s the best quarter I’ve ever seen in UTS,” Bryan Shelton, the coach and father of Ben, said after the second quarter, a sentiment his son agreed with.
“I think the second quarter was probably the best eight minutes I ever had on a tennis court,” Ben Shelton said. “I was very good in executing and playing aggressive every single time. I put it up there as one of my best performances for sure.”
The hitting in the fourth quarter was even better, with Shelton turning on the style, leading 18-5 when time ran out. And though Humbert won the first six “quarter points”, it was too little too late and Shelton finished things off to win the title.
It was a good week, too, for Kokkinakis, who flew in from Australia for his first taste of UTS.
“I loved being a part of this new concept,” he said. “Definitely worth the trip from Australia. Thanks to Patrick (Mouratoglou) and Jeremy (Chardy) for the opportunity. I would love to be a part of it again.”
Day three results:
Final
Shelton beat Humbert 10-19, 18-5, 15-11, 19-11
Semi-finals
Humbert beat Musetti 11-16, 16-10, 15-13, 15-13
Shelton beat Kokkinakis 9-15, 9-12, 15-13, 12-11, 2-0
Day two results:
Kokkinakis beat Humbert 3-2 (12-17, 7-16, 15-11, 13-11, 2-1)
Musetti beat Shelton 3-0 (16-11, 17-9, 19-10)
Shapovalov beat Thiem 3-1 (19-9, 11-14, 14-10, 16-11)
Struff beat Monfils 3-2 (14-16, 18-14, 9-21, 16-15, 2-0)
Kokkinakis beat Shapovalov 3-2 (11-15, 16-7, 6-20, 13-11, 2-0)
Musetti beat Struff 3-2 (9-18, 12-14, 16-14, 14-12, 2-0)
Shelton beat Monfils 3-2 (19-10, 9-18, 20-10, 14-15, 2-0)
Humbert beat Thiem 3-0 (17-7, 17-11, 17-9)
Day one results:
Kokkinakis beat Thiem 3-0 (13-9, 14-11, 13-10)
Shelton beat Struff 3-2 (15-16, 14-12, 17-13, 11-20, 2-0)
Humbert beat Shapovalov 3-1 (16-11, 11-18, 14-13, 15-13)
Musetti beat Monfils 3-0 (27-10, 17-12, 22-14)