Ben Shelton Vs Karen Khachanov, Canadian Open Final: American Wins First ATP Masters 1000 Crown

Ben Shelton saved his best tennis for the "clutch" moments as he rallied from a set down to beat Karen Khachanov 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in the Canadian Open final on Thursday.

Shelton, who was seeded fourth for the men's event in Toronto, had beaten Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz in straight sets in his last two matches, but he had to dig deep to overcome Khachanov.

The Russian's power proved too great in the opening set with Khachanov firing off 10 forehand winners, though he was also aided by 21 unforced errors from Shelton.

Shelton began to take a more aggressive approach in the second set, and after breaking in the ninth game, he recovered from 0-40 down in his next service game to hold and force a decider.

Both players served brilliantly throughout that third set, with neither giving up a single break point before the deciding tie-break – Shelton's third in six games at the tournament.

It was the American who held his nerve, with Khachanov only able to strike the net when chasing a powerful left-handed forehand on Shelton's second match point.

"It's been a long week, not an easy path to the final," Shelton said afterwards. "My best tennis came out when it mattered most. 

"I was clutch, I persevered, I was resilient. Those are all the qualities I like to see in myself."

Data Debrief: Shelton's rise continues

Shelton has been in excellent form since the end of Roland-Garros, with his 17 ATP Tour-level wins in that time only bettered by Fritz (19) and Carlos Alcaraz (18).

Shelton had to do things the hard way in Canada, too, overcoming Flavio Cobolli, de Minaur, Fritz and Khachanov.

At the age of 22 years and 291 days, Shelton is the youngest American to defeat four ATP top-20 players at a single event since Pete Sampras (22 years, 200 days) at Indian Wells in 1994.

That earned Shelton his first ATP Masters 1000 title, becoming the sixth American to win one before turning 23, after Sampras, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Jim Courier and Andy Roddick.