The Base Line: Vekic breaks new ground with Queen’s triumph, Shelton shines in Stuttgart

[p][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7yq94rKLiXR6RB8GJjGEbm?si=uH4qkJp_RF6t5BcA8nJe-g"][b]Listen to an audio version of this article on Spotify here.[/b][/a][/p][h2]Title winners[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vekic-donna/AsWv5414/"]Donna Vekic[/a] secured the biggest win of her career on Sunday, with the 29-year-old overcoming home favourite [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/raducanu-emma/YmIZde1B/"]Emma Raducanu[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/raducanu-e-YmIZde1B/vekic-d-AsWv5414/?mid=h28OOMJl"]6-0, 7-6(6)[/a] at Queen’s Club to end a two-year title drought on the WTA Tour.[/p][p]Having gained entry into the tournament as a lucky loser after a straight sets defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/blinkova-anna/f1PZMn7P/"]Anna Blinkova[/a] in qualifying, the Croatian took her second chance with both hands, seeing off the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bouzkova-marie/WMS3AdAb/"]Marie Bouzkova[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pliskova-karolina/xGn9KNfO/"]Karolina Pliskova[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/boulter-katie/0SeXj3jT/"]Katie Boulter[/a] en route to the showpiece.[/p][p][b]Vekic carried her momentum into Sunday’s final, racing through a dominant opening set before battling through a topsy-turvy second to clinch the fifth singles trophy of her career and a first at the WTA 500 level.[/b][/p][embed guid="06852819-52d2-4a99-a370-670d3033ed96" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wj2evG6Iro" social-type="youtube" /][p]The Croatian finished her victory over Raducanu with 32 winners to 25 unforced errors, and will rise to No. 33 in the updated rankings, putting her in a great position to be seeded at Wimbledon.[/p][p]A former semi-finalist at the All England Club and one of the strongest female players on the surface, Vekic’s grass-court pedigree (and recent upturn in form) is sure to make her a factor at SW19 later this month.[/p][p][b]“This is really my favourite time of the year, my favourite surface,”[/b] Vekic admitted during the trophy presentation in London.[b] “I really made the most out of it this week and I’ll see you all in two weeks at Wimbledon.”[/b][/p][image alt="Vekic (right) poses alongside Raducanu" id="602fba1e-0198-4951-b326-933d0f8c43d0" credit-line="Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Couldridge" guid="361c8f6b-8a08-4558-964d-74b1a4e847e9" original-width="5626" original-height="3886" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shelton-ben/QNuG0Gzb/"]Ben Shelton[/a] enjoyed an equally successful week in Stuttgart, with the 23-year-old claiming his first grass-court title after a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/fritz-t-UH09iaZ6/shelton-b-QNuG0Gzb/?mid=GSXOeFWI"]6-4, 2-6, 6-4[/a] success over fellow American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fritz-taylor/UH09iaZ6/"]Taylor Fritz[/a].[/p][p]Shelton won 74% of points behind his first delivery while saving nine of 11 break points in Sunday’s final, securing a fourth successive three-set victory of the tournament.[/p][p][b]“It means a lot ⁠to ​me. Certainly a difficult week, not an easy week to get through,”[/b] Shelton said. [b]“I'm pretty exhausted, but to play the way I did against the quality of opponents I played in very tight matches and getting a win today against one of the ‌best grass-court players in ​the world is a ‌huge boost."[/b][/p][image alt="Shelton vs Fritz stats" id="3e7a5f88-7efd-4247-9ec6-fec5601fd137" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="170bb972-df93-430e-a455-867f0f59e218" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The big-serving American has now won three titles in 2026 following wins in Dallas and Munich, with world number one [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] the only ATP player to have picked up more this season.[/p][p]Shelton heads to Halle next, where he faces a tricky opening assignment against former Wimbledon finalist [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kyrgios-nick/fudxgwDF/"]Nick Kyrgios[/a].[/p][p][b]Finally, in 's-Hertogenbosch, it was a week of surprises, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/majchrzak-kamil/fPZlNrGS/"]Kamil Majchrzak[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/montgomery-robin/SfXC2Wt1/"]Robin Montgomery[/a] captured maiden titles at the ATP and WTA 250 event.[/b][/p][p]Majchrzak put together a mightily impressive tournament, beating three top-10 opponents to the trophy, including a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/de-minaur-a-EZgZ9Xfh/majchrzak-k-fPZlNrGS/?mid=O6II9dDi"]6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5)[/a] victory over world number six [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-minaur-alex/EZgZ9Xfh/"]Alex de Minaur[/a] in the final.[/p][p]The 30-year-old, who also dispatched [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/auger-aliassime-felix/CzXh4LAb/"]Felix Auger-Aliassime[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/medvedev-daniil/O8qG0Nhb/"]Daniil Medvedev[/a] during his dream run, becomes only the third Polish male to win a tour-level trophy in the Open Era after Hubert Hurkacz and Wojtek Fibak.[/p][embed guid="b6f155c0-114b-4d4e-b1ad-e293621fc777" url="https://x.com/atptour/status/2066174875111145699" social-type="twitter" /][p]Montgomery joined Majchrzak as a surprise champion in Den Bosch, with the American clinching a breakthrough title after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/krejcikova-barbora/2FyACZYi/"]Barbora Krejcikova[/a] withdrew from the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/krejcikova-b-2FyACZYi/montgomery-r-SfXC2Wt1/?mid=hx1xprbJ"]final[/a] because of illness.[/p][p]Ranked as low as No. 484 in the world, 21-year-old Montgomery becomes the lowest-ranked player to win a WTA Tour crown since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a] in 2023.[/p][h2]Biggest strugglers[/h2][p]Former Wimbledon semi-finalist [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shapovalov-denis/zXddgn9o/"]Denis Shapovalov[/a] continues to tumble down the ATP rankings after an opening-round defeat to 37-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cilic-marin/nLoK5syL/"]Marin Cilic[/a] in 's-Hertogenbosch.[/p][p][b]Shapovalov struck 48 unforced errors to just 22 winners in the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cilic-m-nLoK5syL/shapovalov-d-zXddgn9o/?mid=xdPcpMom"]6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5[/a] loss, and has now exited each of his last four tournaments at the first hurdle.[/b][/p][p]This latest setback compounds a miserable first half of the season for the Canadian, who remains a pale imitation of the fearless youngster who broke into the top 10 back in 2020.[/p][embed guid="f4d586f2-e7d0-418f-9f3d-4280b334db5f" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf0KG0B8T2k" social-type="youtube" /][p]Meanwhile, in the women’s draw in Den Bosch, top seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alexandrova-ekaterina/dzbgeEFF/"]Ekaterina Alexandrova[/a] also fell to a first-round defeat, with the Russian losing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/alexandrova-e-dzbgeEFF/udvardy-p-bLI5Djkk/?mid=bVH7Mcxq"]6-4, 7-6(5)[/a] to Hungary’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/udvardy-panna/bLI5Djkk/"]Panna Udvardy[/a]. [/p][p]Alexandrova’s form can often be streaky, but five defeats in a row is certainly cause for concern as she looks to regain her confidence in time for Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round last summer.[/p][p][b]The 31-year-old, who has failed to beat a top 100 opponent since Abu Dhabi at the start of February, will be desperate for a positive response when she takes on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/potapova-anastasia/x81l09qG/"]Anastasia Potapova[/a] in her Berlin opener on Monday.[/b][/p][embed guid="026c3835-e868-4dd4-a12e-4a6109c9f814" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2063937477128098244" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Standout moment[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-serena/ttsu68nH/"]Serena Williams[/a] marked her eagerly anticipated return to competitive action after four years in retirement with a first-round doubles victory alongside Canadian teenager [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mboko-victoria/AqVez8TJ/"]Victoria Mboko[/a] at Queen’s.[/p][p][b]The 44-year-old rolled back the years in front of a capacity crowd in London, with her trademark serve and powerful groundstrokes proving deadly in the pair’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/mboko-v-AqVez8TJ/williams-s-ttsu68nH/?mid=d6DUC6LU"]7-6(2), 6-2[/a] triumph.[/b][/p][image alt="Williams (right) embraces Mboko after their win" id="8f8d785c-02aa-44a7-89e1-4d0e734aa125" credit-line="REUTERS / Toby Melville" guid="f2498303-69ab-45c9-9bf1-c65a74609afa" original-width="4000" original-height="2672" /][p]An unfortunate knee injury for partner Mboko in the singles event meant Williams was unable to continue her comeback in the next round, but the 23-time former Grand Slam champion will look to carry on where she left off when she lines up alongside [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/muchova-karolina/Or4Qa1ye/"]Karolina Muchova[/a] in the Berlin doubles this week.[/p][p]Williams has remained coy on a potential singles return, although with Wimbledon just around the corner, the prospect of the American returning to the All England Club, where she’s won seven singles titles and six doubles crowns, is certainly an enticing one.[/p][h2]Best rallies[/h2][p]Despite losing the 's-Hertogenbosch final, De Minaur produced a superb drop volley under pressure to win a high-quality point against Majchrzak.[/p][embed guid="2517ca0d-4b84-4b70-a820-afdc73483750" url="https://x.com/atptour/status/2066171741013938518" social-type="twitter" /][p]Over in Stuttgart, Shelton showed some incredible retrieval skills to turn the tables in a thrilling rally against compatriot Fritz.[/p][embed guid="bc445c7c-e345-468b-88d4-c990d151d198" url="https://x.com/atptour/status/2066137610171387954" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Upcoming events[/h2][p]The grass-court season continues to ramp up, with ATP 500 events in Halle and London, while on the WTA Tour, there’s a star-studded 500 tournament in Berlin, as well as a 250 in Nottingham.[/p][p][b]The prestigious WTA 500 event in Berlin is headlined by the world’s top two players, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a], as well as the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Coco Gauff[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Jessica Pegula[/a] and Svitolina.[/b][/p][embed guid="a273b472-ad49-49ce-b1fc-3d77d4321c24" url="https://x.com/berlin_tennis/status/2065758861760315757" social-type="twitter" /][p]The men’s draw in Halle is just as stacked, with French Open champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander Zverev[/a], Auger-Aliassime and Shelton all among the favourites for the title.[/p][p]De Minaur is the top seed at Queen’s, with last year’s runner-up [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lehecka-jiri/6PlgfXKR/"]Jiri Lehecka[/a] also in the draw, while in Nottingham, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-leylah-annie/8EI3pJOd/"]Leylah Fernandez[/a] and Raducanu are the standout names.[/p][p][b]Check out the full schedules in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/halle/"]Halle[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/london/"]London[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/wta-singles/berlin/"]Berlin[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/wta-singles/nottingham/"]Nottingham[/a] via the links.[/b][/p][infobox id="fa3af8d3-b7b1-4d57-95f0-50d8796bc2f0" /]