ATP Rankings: Taylor Fritz Steals American no.1 Position Away From Ben Shelton With Spectacular Effort at Bavarian International

Taylor Fritz is confidently hogging the spotlight at the Bavarian International. While the American star had to face a disappointing exit at the Monte Carlo Masters, he seems to be compensating for the loss on clay. Fritz surprised fans by serving Jack Draper with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 defeat. However, this victory came with a significant magnitude.

Among the American ATP stars who currently stand at the top, Ben Shelton held the highest rank until recently. However, despite Shelton’s win in Houston, Taylor Fritz has now assumed the position, securing the no.1 slot for himself after his hard-fought victory against Draper.

Despite the current season being a rollercoaster of wins and losses, beginning with Fritz’s showdown and eventual defeat against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, the American has been looking on the bright side. Soon after the AO, Fritz flew back to America and won the hearts of the fans by securing the Delray Beach Open title.

This achievement not only added another title to his name but also gave him a quick boost in the rankings chart. This match marks a total of 2495 points in Fritz’s portfolio which makes him surpass Shelton, who currently holds 2480 points in all. While the difference is short enough to be covered, the ongoing tournament holds an opportunity for Fritz to keep moving ahead.

Besides them, Tommy Paul also stands in the queue with a total of 2350 points in all, bringing him close to Shelton. As Fritz currently holds the 14th position in the world rankings, it still remains to be seen if he will be able to keep moving ahead.

Ben Shelton’s short-duration hike in rankings

This season has brought Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz quite close to each other in terms of rankings. Shelton managed to gain the top spot just days ago with which he also became the youngest American since Andy Roddick to hit this mark. Along with that, he also joined the club of tennis legends like Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe by becoming one of the few left-handed players to attain the spot.

However, despite gathering a bunch of feats in his name, Fritz dashed back to overtake him once again and took his position back, which he had been holding since March 2022. As both the players continue to battle among themselves to secure the top spot, it still remains to be seen if they will be able to cause wonders in the ongoing clay court season as well.