Ben Shelton wins Canadian Open in Toronto

At the end of a very balanced final of the men’s Canadian Open, the Masters 1000 on the concrete courts of Toronto, it was the U.S. Ben Shelton, world number 7, who triumphed, beating after nearly three hours of battle with a score of 6-7 6-4 7-6 the Russian number 16 Karen Khachanov.

In the first set no break point until 3-3, in the seventh game Shelton was the first to break serve and then missed a counterbreak ball in the next game. Khachjanov serves for the set at 5-4 but returns the break, then at 6-5 in his favor it is Shelton who has three break points, two of them consecutive, which are anhe set points, but he misses them, and so it goes to the tie-break, in which the one at bat loses 7 out of 12 points but in the end it is Khachanov, coming back from 3-5, who wins it 7-5.

No break point in the second set until 4-4: here the Russian breaks serve at 15, in the next game he misses three consecutive counterbreak balls but in the end it is Shelton who evens the set count at the first opportunity. In the third set the two protagonists lose a total of 9 points in 12 games on their own serve, it then goes once again to the tie-break and this time Shelton does not waste the 6-2 lead closing it victoriously 7-3.

For the 22-year-old U.S. son of art (his father Bryan was a good player in the 1980s-1990s) it is the third tournament won on the major circuit, the first this year and also the first Masters 1000, in the next ATP ranking he will have his best ranking ever, number 6. Khachanov, on the other hand, who was No. 8 in 20189, rises from No. 16 to No. 12 but misses out on victory in what would have been his first tournament of the season, eighth in his career and second 1000 after Paris-Bercy 2018.

A curiosity: the match between Shelton and Khachanov was interrupted for a few minutes by the roar of jubilation from the audience, who had learned of the Montreal triumph of home favorite Victoria Mboko, the 18-year-old who beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka in a comeback in the final of the women’s Canadian Open.