Ben Shelton won his maiden ATP 1000 Masters title after beating Karen Khachanov in the final of the Toronto Open on Thursday night. Shelton went past Karen Khachanov 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3) in the final, becoming the youngest American to win a Masters 1000 title in over two decades.
The American lost the opening set in a tiebreaker but bounced back in the last two sets to get over the line at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto.
Shelton said he is focused on improving his own game and making his own path after he was compared with World No.1 Jannik Sinner.
“I think everyone has a different path. Everyone’s story is written differently. I’ve kind of done it my way,” Shelton said in the post-match press conference. “There’s been a lot of guys to look up to, just because how young they have been when they have broken through and have had so much success at big tournaments. Tennis seems to be a sport that has young champions all the time, which is not common or normal, it’s ultra impressive.
“I hope that this week kind of kick starts me and gets me more consistent with the type of tennis that I want to play day-in and day-out. It’s certainly going to push me to work harder. I feel like I have a good grasp now on the things that really work for me against guys who are playing some of the best tennis in the world, and the things that I need to continue to work on.”
Meanwhile, Shelton’s father, coach and former pro Bryan Shelton, has played a key role in the American’s career. The youngster revealed his father always calls a spade a spade.
“He doesn’t sugarcoat things, he’s honest. I think I take things well from him because I respect the career he had as a player, I respect him as a coach and I respect him as my dad,” Shelton said. “He respects me in the same way. I know that he has a great tennis mind, he respects my tennis mind and my independence, knowing that he can let me go in the big moments and just let me play my game.
“But he does a great job of injecting little bits and pieces throughout the match that help me. So I think the respect is one thing that helps a lot. Then it is just the kind of coaching, coach/player model that we have works really well.”
Shelton will next take part in the Cincinnati Open.
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