Last night in Dallas, Taylor Fritz pushed Ben Shelton all the way but came up short, unable to take his chances in the final of the Dallas Open.
The 28-year-old fell to his fellow American in a tight three-set match, missing three championship points along the way.
It was a tough defeat for Fritz, but it also showed just how close he came to lifting the trophy despite dealing with several physical issues.
Always looking to improve, the world number eight felt there were areas of his game he could have managed better to avoid getting pulled into such a battle.
Taylor Fritz points to serve struggles after narrow Dallas Open loss
Speaking after the match, Fritz talked through where things went wrong, even as reporters acknowledged how well he had played given the circumstances.
He told them: “Return wise, no. But serving-wise, I could have done better.
“I think for a set and a half, I was playing great and serving great, and then I don’t know why, but the serve rhythm was just lost a little bit.
“I was not hitting my spots as good, my first serve percentage was nowhere near as good as it has been all week, and it’s tough to start having to grind out these points behind the serve when I have not had to do that all week long. It is a lot of added pressure.
“He did a great job playing defence and making me hit a ton of balls to win the points on my serve. He did a really good job of just making a lot of balls when he was returning, and I was not getting free points on my serve.
“The breaks could have been avoided if I served a little bit better.”
Ben Shelton edges closer to matching Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
In tennis, progress is often judged by results rather than intent.
Shelton has a growing list of them, and his latest title is a direct result of the work he has put in over recent months.
Shelton had mentioned before the tournament that he had been working on one shot in particular, one that has given Jannik Sinner trouble before.
The American star appears to be finding a good balance between fine-tuning his game and delivering results on court.
The Dallas title will not change where Shelton stands compared to Alcaraz or Sinner just yet, but it does give him more confidence moving forward.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
