Alexander Zverev outlasts Ben Shelton in tie-break battle, sets up Stuttgart final against Taylor Fritz

Alexander Zverev secured a hard-fought victory over Ben Shelton with a 7-6(8), 7-6(4) win, advancing to the final of the Stuttgart Open. The world No. 3 returns to a final – once again on home soil – overcoming crucial moments to defeat the American.

The first seed will face second seed Taylor Fritz in the final, who earlier eliminated Félix Auger-Aliassime. Despite the loss, Shelton exits the tournament having reached a significant milestone: his first appearance in the top 10 as of next Monday. He will now quickly travel to London for next week's Queen’s Club Championships.

The match between two of the most consistent servers promised few long rallies, a prediction that held true in the first set. Both players were nearly impeccable on their serve, with Zverev hitting 10 aces and Shelton 11 throughout the set.

However, Shelton's second serve proved to be critical at key moments, as Zverev reacted better to extended exchanges. Both held their serves, though 'Sascha' squandered break points in the third and seventh games. Shelton benefited from strong first serves to get through those critical points. The set extended into a fiercely contested tie-break, where Shelton saved three set points, coming back from 3-6 to 7-6. Nevertheless, the American couldn't convert his opportunity, and Zverev ultimately clinched the tight tie-break 7-6[10-8] on his fifth set point.

In the second set, Zverev came out looking for the win, easily taking his first service game. When Shelton started, the longest game of the match unfolded, lasting 16 points, where the American had to save two break points before managing to hold a difficult game.

Zverev was relentless on his serve, stringing together 18 consecutive service points, giving Shelton virtually no chances for rallies of more than 3 or 4 shots. While the American didn't face major problems on his serve, he never looked as effective as his opponent. Precisely when he was serving at 4-5 to stay in the match, problems arose, and Zverev got two break chances – which were also match points – but Shelton managed to save the difficult moment and level the score at 5-5.

Everything extended to the tie-break, where the German showed his superior class in important moments. Three consecutive mini-breaks meant he went to the change of ends up 6-0. Although he squandered one match point, he finally secured the victory on his serve, 7-6(8), 7-6(1). Throughout the set, Zverev had won an impressive 88% of points on his serve, while Shelton "only" managed 65%.