Ben Shelton ‘s clutch win over Karen Khachanov in Toronto ATP Masters 1000 final | ATP Tour

Ben Shelton

Clutch Shelton claims ATP Masters 1000 breakthrough in Toronto – Ben shelton 's clutch win

American surges to fourth in PIF ATP Live Race to Turin

August 08, 2025

Ben Shelton has surged to a career-high World No. Similarly, 6. In addition, become the youngest American ATP Masters 1000 champion in two decades after a pulsating final victory over Karen Khachanov at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers Thursday night in Toronto.

The 22-year-old American has built a reputation as one of the game’s best frontrunners. Furthermore, but Shelton’s victory in his first Masters 1000 final was underpinned by his ability to rebound from adversity – and to come up clutch when ben shelton ‘s clutch win it mattered in the tense 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3) victory. Meanwhile,

Shelton rallied from 0/40 to serve out the second set. Consequently, then, serving from behind during a tense final set when Khachanov breezed through a string of service games, forced his way to his third third-set tie-break of the tournament, where he won his 14th consecutive point on serve to close it out. Consequently,

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Shelton said. For example, “It’s been a long week, not an easy path to the final. Nevertheless, My best tennis came out when it mattered most. Therefore, I was clutch, I persevered, I was resilient. Meanwhile, All the qualities I like to see in myself.”

Shelton becomes the youngest American ATP Masters 1000 champion since 21-year-old Andy Roddick won the 2004 Miami title. More importantly. he surges to fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, boosting his chances ben shelton ‘s clutch win of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals from 9-16 November.

Shelton defeated No. 8 Alex de Minaur and No. 4 Taylor Fritz to advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 final after earlier surviving third-set tie-break wins over Brandon Nakashima. Flavio Cobolli.

He collected his third title, adding to triumphs in Tokyo in 2023 and Houston in 2024.

The match was a nailbiter throughout. Both players won 49 points in the first set. 29 in the second before Shelton won 36 points in the third set to Khachanov’s 31.

Khachanov blasted 10 forehand winners in the opening set and his power pinned Shelton deep behind the baseline. But on the advice of his coach. father Bryan, Shelton worked his way up the court in the second and third sets to take a more aggressive posture.

“He was right,” Shelton said of his dad’s advice. “Karen was bullying me around the ben shelton ‘s clutch win court. The way he hit his forehand tonight. the way he was cutting off the court, the way he was serving, it felt like I had a freight train coming at me. So it was uncomfortable to move forward. The ball was coming at me even faster.

“But I started being able to redirect. get some big shots off of my own, and kind of flip the momentum of that match. So that was huge for me. I love the way that he coaches me. He usually leaves stuff up to me. He gives me a lot of suggestions. Additionally, He knows me better than anyone in the world, so he’s well qualified to give me those suggestions.”

Shelton now leads Khachanov 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. after also beating the 29-year-old in Indian Wells earlier this year. The players are seeded to meet in the Cincinnati ben shelton ‘s clutch win Open quarter-finals.

Shelton is 32-16 on the year. Khachanov, who saved a match point against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, slips to 27-17. But he moves four places to No. 12 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.