Ben Shelton rallies to beat Karen Khachanov in Toronto for biggest title of career

Ben Shelton won the National Bank Open on Thursday night for the third and biggest title of his young career Thursday night, rallying to beat 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3).

The 22-year-old Shelton, seeded fourth in Masters 1000 hard-court event, had 16 aces in the final. He also won on hard courts in Tokyo in 2023 and on clay in Houston last year.

Shelton will move to a career-high sixth in the world. He outlasted Khachanov a night after topping second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American semi-final match.

The 29-year-old Khachanov has seven career victories – all on hard courts. In the semi-finals, he survived a match point in another third-set tiebreaker against top-seeded Alexander Zverev.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner – the 2023 winner in Toronto – and No 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipped the expanded event as they prepare the US Open.

Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool won the all-English doubles final, saving four match points in a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 13-11 victory over Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski. The second-seeded Wimbledon champions have won 19 straight matches.