Boris Becker and two-time former champion Matteo Berrettini were in the crowd on Sunday as Ben Shelton lifted the first grass title of his career with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat of Taylor Fritz.

The result between the American pair prevented Fritz from defending the title he won at the hilltop Weissenhof club a year ago. 

Italy’s Berrettini, injured at Roland Garros last week, showed up in Germany at the request of tournament and his personal sponsor Hugo Boss, presumably for multiple rounds of handshaking at personal appearances.

Becker is rarely missing from German tournament finals.

ATP No. 5 Shelton earned a sixth career title a second in Germany this season  after winning Munich in April.

Shelton withstood 14 aces from Fritz while saving nine of the 11 break points which came his way on the grass.

Shelton defeated Fritz in the Dallas final last February and now holds thetop American spot ahead of his ninth-ranked compatriot.

Taylor Fritz will hope to become the first since Thomas Musters to defend his title at the ATP Stuttgart event after booking a final against US compatriot Ben Shelton.

 Austrian Muster, a monster on the former clay surface here three decades ago, lifted the title in Germany’s car-making capital in 1995 and 1996 when it was played in late summer.

With the event at the Weissenhof club now the opening week of pre-Wimbledon grass play, the parameters have totally changed.

Fritz backed up his 2025 title performance by booking a second straight final thanks to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Alexander Bublik in 69 minutes, backed up by 13 aces.

Shelton, a semi-finalist a year ago, defeated Jiri Lehecka after nearly three hours 6-7 (4), 7-6 (14), 7-6 (6).

The final will be a rematch of the Dallas final four years ago won by Shelton.

Bublik handed over a double-fault on match point as Fritz advanced.

“I’m really happy to be back in the final here. I had to fight hard in the first two matches, so it’s hard to believe I’ve reached the final,” Fritz said.

“It’s always cool to defend a title. But much more importantly, a tournament win would mean a good start to the grass-court season. I always feel very comfortable here in Stuttgart; it’s almost like a home game.”

Shelton had to finish off a rain-interrupted quarter-final from a day earlier over Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro before then taking on Lehecka.

The American saved a pair of Czech match points in the second set and still needed eight set points of his own to get the match level at a set each before winning the third to advance.

“I’m speechless, it’s a short grass-court season, so I try to spend as much time as possible at the court,” Shelton joked.

“A tennis match doesn’t always go according to plan. I lost the first set, which makes it more difficult. But there are many ways to win a match. 

“I obviously chose the most complicated one here. My opponents always played great tennis, 

“I’m very tired, but I’m looking forward to playing my second final this year against Taylor . Every time we play against each other, it’s a lot of fun.”

The winners of the last two editions of the Madrid Masters rolled over minimal opposition on Thursday to reach the third round with quick-fire victories.

Holder Aryna Sabalenka ran her current win streak to 13 straight matches with a 7-5, 6-3 defeat of Payton Stearns, earning her seventh straight victory in Madrid.

The world No. 1 has claimed three titles here from four finals and is riding a wave of confidence after lifting trophies in Indian Wells and Miami last month.

“I’m just glad that I got the win. Maybe not that beautiful, but I feel like by the end of the match I felt much better on court,” Sabalenka said. “I really hope that in the next match I’ll bring better things.”

The winner now faces Romanian 29th seed Jaqueline Cristian.

“Today was a fresh start for me. And it wasn’t that smooth and maybe the movement wasn’t that good.

“But I’m happy I got a win. And I’ll just do some extra stuff tomorrow. Make sure that in the next match I’ll be playing a little bit better,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner.

Iga Swiatek, the fourth seed and former WTA No. 1, advanced as she crushed Daria Snigur 6-2, 6-4 in a 61-minute first outing after hiring former Emma Raducanu mentor Francisco Roig as her new coach a few weeks ago.

Swiatek is bidding for a fifth career title on clay and comes to the Spanish capital after losing in a Stuttgart quarter-final last week to Mirra Andreeva.