Ben Shelton has a fantastic chance to become the American number one once more, at the expense of Taylor Fritz.
Fritz is the highest-ranked American man right now, and currently occupies eighth place in the ATP rankings.
He is one spot ahead of his countryman Shelton, who will be targeting the summit when he plays at this week’s Houston Open.
Shelton is the top seed at the ATP 250 event in Texas, where Fritz is absent, with the latter having also decided to skip the Monte-Carlo Masters.
After receiving a bye in round one, the former opens his tournament in Houston against Zhang Zhizhen, with the American number one ranking at stake.
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Ben Shelton needs just one Houston Open win to become American No.1
Worryingly for Fritz, Shelton only needs to win one match in Texas in order to return to being the leading man for his nation.
With 3,860 points, he is just 10 points behind the leader in the ATP Live rankings, with Shelton inching closer to becoming America’s number one for the first time since early February.
The compatriots have an intriguing head-to-head record ongoing behind the scenes too, which Shelton leads 2-1.
That is after their Dallas Open final earlier this season, where he edged ahead thanks to a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 comeback victory.
| Year | Winner | Tournament | Round | Surface | Score |
| 2026 | Ben Shelton | Dallas | Final | Indoor Hard | 36 63 75 |
| 2025 | Ben Shelton | ATP Masters 1000 Canada | Semifinal | Outdoor Hard | 64 63 |
| 2023 | Taylor Fritz | ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells | Round of 64 | Outdoor Hard | 46 64 63 |
Ben Shelton enjoying dream Houston Open doubles run
Zhang is a wildcard at the Houston Open, and is into the second round after beating British qualifier Jack Pinnington Jones 6-1, 6-3.
The current ATP number 263, he holds a 1-1 head-to-head record with Shelton, winning their most recent clash in Rome in 2024.
But the American has also been enjoying a fine run as a wildcard in Houston, having just clinched a semifinal spot in doubles.
Playing alongside Andres Andrade, the wildcards won their opener against Rajeev Ram and Benjamin Kittay, before knocking out Marcelo Demoliner and Robert Galloway, the third seeds.
They will now take on either Rinky Hijikata and Ryan Seggerman, or second seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Fernando Romboli, for a place in the final.
Shelton has only ever made it to one doubles final in his career, losing in Washington in 2023 while playing alongside Mackenzie McDonald.
His latest exploits in the format should really help his singles efforts, which he will very likely prioritise from this moment on.
But playing doubles is definitely a smart move from the 23-year-old, who like his rivals will be keen to get used to clay after making the transition from hard courts.
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