Munich Open — My win will fuel hopes of U.S. men’s clay revival, says Ben Shelton Ben Shelton said he had laid down a claycourt marker for U.S. men with his Munich Open win on Sunday after the world number six became the first American to claim an event above the ATP 250 level since Andre Agassi’s 2002 Rome Masters triumph.
Shelton’s 6-2, 7-5 win over Flavio Cobolli also made him the fifth American this century to bag a claycourt title outside the United States, joining Agassi, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey and Sebastian Korda.
The 23-year-old said the “huge” triumph underlined his ambitions before the French Open, which begins on May 24.
“Moving forward I have big ambitions for the claycourts, a surface I want to get better on each year. It’s become one of my favourite surfaces to play on,” Shelton said.
While the American women have had plenty of success on the sport’s slowest surface, with Coco Gauff winning the French Open crown last year, the attention will now turn to whether the U.S. men can leave their own mark in Paris.
With Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe making the Roland Garros quarter-finals last year, Shelton said things were looking up as American men aim to end a Grand Slam drought going back to 2003 when Roddick won the hardcourt U.S. Open.
“Success on clay is coming back,” he added. “I’m looking forward to being part of this progression of U.S. men’s tennis on clay.
“On the women’s side, they have a lockdown as they won the French Open last year. We as men have some more to do but we’re heading in the right direction.”
Published on Apr 20, 2026
#Munich #Open #win #fuel #hopes #U.S #mens #clay #revival #Ben #Shelton
Ben Shelton said he had laid down a claycourt marker for U.S. men with his Munich Open win on Sunday after the world number six became the first American to claim an event above the ATP 250 level since Andre Agassi’s 2002 Rome Masters triumph.
Shelton’s 6-2, 7-5 win over Flavio Cobolli also made him the fifth American this century to bag a claycourt title outside the United States, joining Agassi, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey and Sebastian Korda.
The 23-year-old said the “huge” triumph underlined his ambitions before the French Open, which begins on May 24.
“Moving forward I have big ambitions for the claycourts, a surface I want to get better on each year. It’s become one of my favourite surfaces to play on,” Shelton said.
While the American women have had plenty of success on the sport’s slowest surface, with Coco Gauff winning the French Open crown last year, the attention will now turn to whether the U.S. men can leave their own mark in Paris.
With Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe making the Roland Garros quarter-finals last year, Shelton said things were looking up as American men aim to end a Grand Slam drought going back to 2003 when Roddick won the hardcourt U.S. Open.
“Success on clay is coming back,” he added. “I’m looking forward to being part of this progression of U.S. men’s tennis on clay.
“On the women’s side, they have a lockdown as they won the French Open last year. We as men have some more to do but we’re heading in the right direction.”
Published on Apr 20, 2026
![IPL 2026: Venkatesh Iyer on limited chances at RCB — Sitting in the wings doesn’t mean I am not part of the plan IPL 2026 has been a double whammy for Venkatesh Iyer. So strong is the Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad that he has featured in just one of six games.And in that match, because of the Impact Player rule, the all-rounder could only showcase one of his two skills.But the 31-year-old, who played leading roles in Kolkata Knight Riders’ title dash in 2024 and the runner-up finish in 2021, remains upbeat.“I am not used to sitting out, but as someone who places the team above everything else, it’s my duty to adhere to the environment,” Venkatesh, who was signed for Rs. 7 crore, told reporters on Wednesday. “RCB is the defending champion. To tinker with a winning combination is not always the smartest move.“Sitting in the wings doesn’t mean that I am not part of the plan. I got one opportunity and I was extremely delighted that I scored (29 n.o., from 15 balls versus Rajasthan Royals). Right now, I am backing the boys 100 per cent to do the job.”Interestingly, from the 2023 season when the Impact Player rule was introduced, Venkatesh has bowled all of six balls in 41 outings.“Impact Player [rule] never stopped a Hardik [Pandya] or a [Andre] Russell or a [Sunil] Narine from bowling four overs,” Venkatesh opined. “It’s not stopping Nitish Reddy either. It actually pushes you to be the best all-rounder version that you can be.“But it does curtail the opportunity for the one- and two-over bowlers. If I am the captain, I need to figure out how to use my five [specialist] bowlers and how to give my sixth [part-time] bowler a go. But here, your sixth bowler is also a specialist bowler. So there is cushion for strategising.”Venkatesh, though, is not giving up on his bowling.“I know that I won’t be bowling four overs [in white-ball cricket]. So I try to identify someone who has played a lot of red-ball cricket.“I had Mitchell Starc [at KKR in 2024]. This year, I have Josh Hazlewood. I make it a point to have conversations because I want to win Madhya Pradesh the Ranji Trophy once again. And I know that I can do it with a ball in hand.”Published on Apr 22, 2026 #IPL #Venkatesh #Iyer #limited #chances #RCB #Sitting #wings #doesnt #part #plan](https://i1.wp.com/ss-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/gxtfyh/article70893892.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/_DSC3856.JPG?ssl=1 "IPL 2026: Venkatesh Iyer on limited chances at RCB — Sitting in the wings doesn’t mean I am not part of the plan IPL 2026 has been a double whammy for Venkatesh Iyer. So strong is the Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad that he has featured in just one of six games.And in that match, because of the Impact Player rule, the all-rounder could only showcase one of his two skills.But the 31-year-old, who played leading roles in Kolkata Knight Riders’ title dash in 2024 and the runner-up finish in 2021, remains upbeat.“I am not used to sitting out, but as someone who places the team above everything else, it’s my duty to adhere to the environment,” Venkatesh, who was signed for Rs. 7 crore, told reporters on Wednesday. “RCB is the defending champion. To tinker with a winning combination is not always the smartest move.“Sitting in the wings doesn’t mean that I am not part of the plan. I got one opportunity and I was extremely delighted that I scored (29 n.o., from 15 balls versus Rajasthan Royals). Right now, I am backing the boys 100 per cent to do the job.”Interestingly, from the 2023 season when the Impact Player rule was introduced, Venkatesh has bowled all of six balls in 41 outings.“Impact Player [rule] never stopped a Hardik [Pandya] or a [Andre] Russell or a [Sunil] Narine from bowling four overs,” Venkatesh opined. “It’s not stopping Nitish Reddy either. It actually pushes you to be the best all-rounder version that you can be.“But it does curtail the opportunity for the one- and two-over bowlers. If I am the captain, I need to figure out how to use my five [specialist] bowlers and how to give my sixth [part-time] bowler a go. But here, your sixth bowler is also a specialist bowler. So there is cushion for strategising.”Venkatesh, though, is not giving up on his bowling.“I know that I won’t be bowling four overs [in white-ball cricket]. So I try to identify someone who has played a lot of red-ball cricket.“I had Mitchell Starc [at KKR in 2024]. This year, I have Josh Hazlewood. I make it a point to have conversations because I want to win Madhya Pradesh the Ranji Trophy once again. And I know that I can do it with a ball in hand.”Published on Apr 22, 2026 #IPL #Venkatesh #Iyer #limited #chances #RCB #Sitting #wings #doesnt #part #plan")
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