Ben Shelton has repeated as men’s singles champion at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers*, defeating fellow American Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Thursday at IGA Stadium in the tournament’s first all-American men’s singles final since 1995.
The fifth-seeded Shelton earned his second career ATP Masters 1000 title after winning last year’s tournament in Toronto.
The 23-year-old becomes the first player to successfully defend the Canadian title since Rafael Nadal in 2018 and 2019.
Shelton also became the first player since Novak Djokovic in 2016 to win the tournament without dropping a set. Ivan Lendl was the last player to accomplish the feat in Montreal, doing so in 1987.
Shelton stays composed
Shelton said defending a title for the first time was one of the biggest challenges he has faced on tour.
“It feels outstanding. For me, obviously, I’ve never defended a title before. It’s something that I strive to do. I think that it’s one of the biggest challenges out here on tour, so to be able to stay focused, as I did throughout the week, not get ahead of myself, not feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, but play confidently and enjoy myself out here on the court, that’s what I’m most happy about.”
The big-serving left-hander did not face a break point in the match, which lasted one hour 27 minutes.
Nakashima, seeded 28th, was playing in his first Masters 1000 final.
The 25-year-old matched Shelton’s power in the second set, forcing a tiebreak after fighting back from 30-0 down in the final game with a mix of aces, sliced volleys and punishing forehands.
The two remained square until Shelton smacked a cross-court forehand to take a 4-2 advantage. He held serve for a 6-3 lead and converted his second championship point with a forehand down the line before flexing his muscles and sharing hugs with his team courtside.
Shelton finds another gear
Nakashima started the match in strong form on serve, striking four aces to take the opening game, before Shelton solved him in the seventh.
Shelton broke Nakashima to take a 4-3 lead, stepping up on his second serve and firing a forehand winner.
The left-hander only elevated his play from there. After comfortably holding, Shelton relentlessly defended along the baseline and whipped a pair of blistering passing shots to break a second time and take the opening set in 32 minutes.
Asked what he would take from the victory into the rest of the summer and toward the U.S. Open, Shelton pointed to his ability to remain composed when matches became difficult.
“It does a lot. I mean, I think that, apart from just winning the title, I thought that some of my opponents played really, really good tennis. I thought Brandon was, his serve was almost untouchable in the second set today, and I just had to find a way to get a couple points here and there. He was clutched. I was clutched on the stretch, and I think, for me, that component of it not going away when things got tough this week and being able to maintain an advantage or stay at neutral is what I take away the most from it.”
Shelton thanks his team and fans
During his on-court remarks, Shelton began by thanking God and then congratulated Nakashima on his run to the final.
“You are the future of American tennis. We all are, and it’s so cool to be on this journey with you,” Shelton said.
He also thanked his family, team, sponsors, Tennis Canada, tournament staff and volunteers before turning his attention to the Montreal crowd.
“Tennis-wise, this has been one of the best weeks of my life. I’ve played some of the best tennis that I’ve ever played. And to be able to put that on display here in front of you has been an honour.”
Doubles final
Earlier Thursday, Brazil’s Rafael Matos and Orlando Luz defeated Croatia’s Mate Pavic and El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo in the men’s doubles final.
The 12-day tournament drew more than 309,000 fans, despite five sessions being interrupted by rain and several marquee withdrawals.
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic all missed the tournament. Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime also withdrew with a back injury hours before his opening match.
Alexander Zverev, the top seed, was eliminated in the second round, leaving Shelton as the highest-seeded player from the round of 16 onward. Youngsters Rafael Jodar, Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien also made breakout runs.
The men’s tournament moves to Toronto next year, while Montreal will host the women’s event.
*ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC. IS THE PARENT COMPANY OF CITYNEWS.
—With files from The Canadian Press
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