TORONTO — Ben Shelton won the National Bank Open on Thursday night for the third title of his professional tennis career — and the biggest one yet — with the young American rallying to beat 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The 22-year-old Shelton, seeded fourth, became the first U.S. winner in the Masters 1000 hard-court event since Andy Roddick in 2003. Shelton also won a tournament title on hard courts in Tokyo in 2023 and on clay courts in Houston last year.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Shelton said. “It’s been a long week, not an easy path to the final. My best tennis came out when it mattered most. I was clutch, I persevered, I was resilient. All the qualities I like to see in myself.”
Shelton will move up a spot to a career-high sixth in the ATP Tour rankings. He beat Khachanov a night after topping second-seeded Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 6-3, in an all-American semifinal.
“I feel like it was a perfect storm for me this week,” Shelton said. “A lot of tight matches and long matches. I played some of the best tennis that I’ve played this year.”