Ben Shelton has been given some good news ahead of Wimbledon, despite losing to his compatriot Taylor Fritz.
Shelton beat Fritz in the Stuttgart Open final to claim his first grass court title last week and was hoping to go back-to-back in Halle.
The world number five looked on track to beat Fritz again after winning the first set, but Shelton was ultimately beaten 6(5)-7, 7-6(8), 7-6(3).
Despite his winning run on grass coming to an end, Shelton has been given a significant boost ahead of Wimbledon this year.
Ben Shelton is confirmed to be a top four seed at Wimbledon
Although Shelton is the current world number five, he was on track to be the fourth seed at Wimbledon this year with Carlos Alcaraz absent from this year’s tournament.
However, this was under threat to Alex de Minaur, who was competing at Queen’s this week and Shelton knew that he needed to match to maintain his spot as the fourth seed.
Shelton’s loss to Fritz put him at risk of dropping down to the fifth seed, but De Minaur was also beaten in the Queen’s quarter-finals by Brandon Nakashima.
De Minaur’s quarter-final defeat at Queen’s means that Shelton is now confirmed to be a top four seed at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
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This is hugely significant for Shelton, as it means that he now knows that he will avoid Jannik Sinner until at least the semi-finals.
Shelton will also avoid Alexander Zverev until at least the semi-final stage, but Sinner is more significant for the American.
That is because Shelton has lost his last nine consecutive matches against Sinner, including at Wimbledon in both 2024 and 2025.
Shelton should now be heavily encouraged by this update, as he looks to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
Alex de Minaur has missed a huge opportunity at Queen’s
While Shelton has a silver lining from his defeat to Fritz, this is a huge missed opportunity for De Minaur.
Similarly to Shelton, De Minaur has also faced many difficulties against Sinner, perhaps even more so as he has lost all 13 matches he has played against the world number one.
De Minaur now could have to play Sinner in the quarter-finals once again, a stage of Grand Slams that he is still yet to surpass.
The Australian has lost all seven of his previous major quarter-finals, and De Minaur could now be left in a very difficult position as he continues to seek his first Grand Slam semi-final.
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De Minaur has also missed a huge opportunity to win one of the biggest titles of his career, as the only top 20 player remaining in the Queen’s draw this year.
The Wimbledon seeding will be set after this week, with Sinner, Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Shelton set as the top four seeds.
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