TORONTO/WASHINGTON, August 8, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
Ben Shelton became the youngest American ATP Masters 1000 champion in 21 years after capturing the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers Thursday night in Toronto.
The 22-year-old Shelton rallied to defeat No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3), in two hours and 47 minutes on Sobeys Stadium to become the second active American along with Taylor Fritz, whom he beat in the semifinal round, to win an ATP Masters 1000 title.
The World No. 7 Shelton became the sixth man born in the 2000s to win an ATP Masters 1000 title – the youngest since then-21-year-old Andy Roddick won the Miami Open in 2004, and the first American men’s champion at this event since Roddick in 2003. The Canadian crown is Shelton’s third ATP Tour title overall and he joins five-time champion Rafael Nadal as the only left-handed men’s champions in Canada this century.
BIG BEN CONQUERS CANADA ‼️
Ben Shelton beats out Karen Khachanov 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3) to claim his third ATP title and first Masters 1000 title pic.twitter.com/kU62buwLVM
— National Bank Open (@NBOtoronto) August 8, 2025
Shelton struck 16 aces and hit 38 winners overall, which overcame his 45 unforced errors. He won 80 percent of his first-serve points, saved five of six break points and converted two of six break-point opportunities. Shelton outpointed Khachanov 107-102. The American No. 2 simply came up clutch when it mattered the most. Shelton won his last 14 service points to close out his 32nd victory of the 2025 season in 48 outings.
Meanwhile, Khachanov, who eliminated World No. 3 and top seed Alexander Zverev in Wednesday’s semifinals, dropped to 27-17 and is 0-2 lifetime against Shelton after losing to him at Indian Wells last March.
The moment Ben Shelton captured his first Masters 1000 title
A well deserved hug for pops. #NBO25 pic.twitter.com/keC2hgDA3q
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 8, 2025
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Shelton said. “It’s been a long week, not an easy path to the final, not an easy week by any means. My best tennis came out when it mattered most. I was clutch, I persevered, I was resilient. Just a lot of qualities that like to see in myself and are important for me to continue on my tennis journey.”
“My best tennis came out when it mattered most”
Some strong words from our champion ⭐#NBO25 pic.twitter.com/PCl4W1dCmJ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 8, 2025
En route to his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto, Shelton strung together six straight victories. He defeated qualifier Adrian Mannarino, No. 25 seed Brandon Nakashima, No. 13 seed Flavio Cobolli, World No. 8 and ninth seed Alex de Minaur, World No. 4 and second seed Fritz, and Khachanov. He survived third-set tie-breaks in achieving his wins over Nakashima, Cobolli and Khachanov.
With the Toronto title secured, Shelton will move ahead of Novak Djokovic in the PIF ATP Rankings to World No. 6 when the rankings are updated next Monday.
Cash and Glasspool win battle of the Brits, garner sixth doubles title of year
Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain captured their sixth ATP Tour doubles title of the season with their 6-3, 6-7 (5), 13-11 victory over fellow British Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski Thursday evening.
Cash (World No. 4) and Glasspool (World No. 3) have strung together four straight title triumphs – winning Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Wimbledon and Toronto – while compiling 19 straight victories. Their win over Salisbury and Skupski, recorded in an hour and 41 minutes and won on their second championship point after saving four championship points during the match tie-break, was their third via match tie-break during the Toronto tournament.
The Toronto title represents their first ATP Masters 1000 crown as a team – and they are the first British duo to win a title at this level. They are also the first team to qualify for the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals.
JULIAN CASH AND LLOYD GLASSPOOL ARE 2025 NBO DOUBLES CHAMPIONS
They win the all-British finale 6-3, 6-7(5), 13-11 with a wild back and forth match tiebreak to finish it off‼️ pic.twitter.com/ccT3lmoTus
— National Bank Open (@NBOtoronto) August 7, 2025
Against Salisbury and Skupski, who were vying for their first title of the season, Cash and Glasspool combined to hit 15 aces, won 80 percent of their first-serve points, converted two of seven break points and outpointed their opponents 77-72. This was the second title victory for Cash and Glasspool over Salisbury and Skupski this season, after winning Doha last February.
Cash and Glasspool improved to 54-16 lifetime as a team – 47-11 this season.
CHAMPIONS @cash_julian & Lloyd Glasspool pick up their first Masters 1000 title as a team as they defeat Salisbury/Skupski 6-3 6-7(5) 13-11.@NBOtoronto | #NBO25 pic.twitter.com/TgUqHe7Oad
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2025
“We’ve had an amazing kind of six, seven weeks, but the whole year’s been good,” Cash said during the team’s post-match news conference. “We’ve put in a lot of effort in the off-season and, yeah, it’s really nice for it to be paying off. I think we need a little bit of rest, kind of reset, and yeah, long may the success continue.”
Glasspool added: “Yeah, 19 matches in a row is incredible. I think now it’s about keeping the body and the mind as fresh as we can. This is obviously an amazing problem to have, but yeah, right now I’m pretty exhausted, I will have to really rest up and try and push really hard again for Cincinnati.”
By the numbers
By becoming the first American ATP Masters 1000 champion since Taylor Fritz at Indian Wells in 2022, Ben Shelton will move past Novak Djokovic to become World No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings after Toronto.
“Quotable …”
“The night sessions were the best I’ve ever seen, it was the best product. I think the 12-day model shows the power of it, the rest that players had in between the matches.
“And then, this championship week, we saw it last night, you know, the Zverev/Khachanov match was the match of the tournament so far.
“So, extremely happy with it, the fans saw an amazing tournament, and we’ll continue to grow from here.”
– Karl Hale, National Bank Open tournament director, during his end of the tournament news conference Thursday.
