"He’s just got that inner confidence—swagger" - Querrey and Vandeweghe rate Ben Shelton's Roland Garros prospects after Munich title

Ben Shelton has got his clay swing up and running in fine fashion. A title charge in the BMW Munich Open has sent a message of intent to the rest of the tour. Something that Sam Querrey and Coco Vandeweghe have noted with his progress on the surface a timely one amid the second Grand Slam of the year creeping closer.

After an early exit in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Shelton was determined to get back on track in Munich, starting up his European clay swing. It was not easy. He came through tight matches against Emilio Nava, Alexander Blockx and Joao Fonseca before sweeping aside qualifier Alex Molcan to make it back to back finals.

Last year, Alexander Zverev ended his journey. It looked to be him once more, but Flavio Cobolli made it more semi-final misery for the world number three and set up a clash against Shelton. In the end, Shelton's big serving came in very useful as he was able to blast away from his Italian opponent and seal a fifth ATP title, a second on clay from three finals.

Despite the success, there was nothing that new Querrey saw with his performance. "You know, nothing new really," he said on the Tennis Channel. "I feel like for Ben Shelton, he lost early in Miami and early in Houston, but that’s his MO, right? He’ll throw in some of these early losses and it doesn’t faze him. He’s a big-time player."

He can bounce back from these big defeats and go on to win noticeable titles and go on deep runs in big tournaments. "He’s won three ATP 500s. He made the final in Munich last year and backed it up with a win this year. He also reached the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros last year. So there are certain moments during the season—particularly at the majors—where his game pops and elevates."

Querrey noted the lack of Americans in the main draw in Munich, highlighting even more what a great job he did. "He did a great job this week going into Munich, a tournament that Americans don’t necessarily even play," he stated. "He kind of rolled through the draw. He struggled with Emilio Nava early on in three sets, but the semifinals and final looked pretty solid—winning in straight sets in both."

Vandeweghe opened up on why Americans do not make the trip to Munich that often. "Because it’s cold, and the clay plays heavy and slow. For an American to win on that traditional clay-court surface—where the typical clay-court specialists usually thrive—is impressive. Ben shows up and beats them at their own game."

Contrasting conditions to the following Masters 1000 tournaments, Shelton proved that he could play in the tricky conditions where others cannot. "It’s not like going to Madrid, where the altitude helps and speeds things up, or Rome where it can get hot and the clay plays quicker. At Roland-Garros, you’re going to get some freezing days where the clay is slow and heavy—and Ben just showed he can play through that."

Querrey continued to speak on why he was good on European clay. "When you serve 140 mph on a fast hard court, 140 on clay is still 140, right? He’s also got that big kick serve, and being left-handed helps as well. Guys naturally retreat off the baseline against him. He’s not afraid to throw in serve-and-volley either."

Big serving will only get you so far without confidence. Something that Shelton is not lacking. "He’s just got that inner confidence—swagger. Even going into this tournament, he didn’t necessarily have a ton of confidence based on the previous weeks. But he believes he can win every time he steps on court, and that can take you a long way."

Shelton's strongest surface is not clay, but it is one that he is adapting to and improving on. He will compete in both the Madrid Open and Rome Open as preparations ramp up for Roland Garros. He has competed in the event the past three years, reaching the first round, third round and fourth round. The steady signs of improvement are positive signs for the 23-year-old, who has been backed to go further than last year.

"There’s no reason to believe he can’t improve on that this year—especially after what he was able to do in Munich," Querrey concluded.