It’s been a triumphant few days for American tennis star Ben Shelton, who, at 22 years old, won the Canadian Open and his first ATP Masters 1000 tournament. According to The Tennis Gazette, Shelton beat Karen Khachanov 6-7(5-7), 6-4, 7-6(7-3) in the Canadian Open final at Toronto’s Sobeys Stadium on Thursday night.
Shelton’s powerful 124 mph serve led to his victory
Shelton’s victory was not without its challenges. According to The Athletic, when facing Brandon Nakashima in the round of 32, the 22-year-old found himself down a break in the third set, eventually winning it with a third-set tiebreak. Shelton was down 3-5 when up against Flavio Cobolli in the round of 16, the latter earning a third-set tiebreak. But each setback made Shelton stronger and eventually led him to win the biggest title of his career.
“I just continued to match him, and keep holding, and then played an unbelievable [third set] tiebreak,” Shelton said.
Khachanov dominated most of Thursday’s final match, but Shelton was not going down without a fight. After battling in the first and second sets, Shelton secured a third set and offered Khachanov a 124 mph serve that led him to his victory.
“He served it out like crazy,” Khachanov said.
Shelton won his Cincinnati first-round match just two days after winning in Toronto
Shelton had little time to enjoy his victory in Toronto as he headed straight into the Cincinnati Open, which kicked off earlier this month.
“I flew here in the morning yesterday, practiced here yesterday afternoon, trying to get used to the heat again,” the 22-year-old told The Tennis Gazette on Monday.
While the Cincinnati Open is one of Shelton’s “favorite tournaments,” he opened up about how difficult it was jumping right into another tournament, which has already seen him win his first-round match, Tennishead reported.
“It’s definitely not easy to play a couple of days after winning a title,” he said.
Shelton faces Roberto Bautista Agut in the round of 32 on Tuesday.
