Ben Shelton on Thursday defended his Montreal Masters title, beating Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in an all-American final.
The fifth-seeded Shelton has seven career ATP Tour victories, also winning this year in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart. He won the Canadian event last year in Toronto.
“Tennis-wise, this has been one of the best weeks of my life,” Shelton told the crowd. “I played some of the best tennis that I’ve ever played and to be able to put that on display here in front of you has been an honor. So, thank you guys for bringing the energy all week.”
Photo: EPA
Shelton did not drop a set in the tournament. The first repeat winner in Canada since Rafael Nadal in 2019, the 23-year-old left-hander is set to move up to sixth in the world rankings.
Shelton served at 228.5kph without surrendering a break point throughout the match that lasted 1 hour, 27 minutes.
“He’s been playing at an insane level, it really has been incredible to see his career so far,” Nakashima said about Shelton. “He’s going to be a top player for his whole career.”
Photo: AFP
The 28th-seeded Nakashima won his lone tour title in 2022 in San Diego.
In Toronto, former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek captured her first title of the year, roaring past a weary Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 to claim victory at the WTA 1000 event.
Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, had not even reached a final previously this year and saw her Wimbledon title defense end in the third round.
However, she was in control throughout against second-ranked Australian Open winner Rybakina on the way to a first Canadian crown.
The victory is to see her rise from eighth in the world back into the top five heading into her title defense in Cincinnati, with the US Open beckoning later in the month.
After she accepted her 12th 1000-level trophy, the 25-year-old had some words for the doubters who have contributed to what she has called her toughest year on court.
“It means so, so much to me,” Swiatek said. “All these past months were not easy. I’m really happy that I kept focusing on growing, changing my game a little bit, improving despite all the opinions that many people have about me every day on the Internet.”
“It’s not easy to deal with all of that, so I’m really happy that the reality is different,” she said. “I have people that know me so well and people that support me every week, every day ... so thank you to the team.”
“I want to dedicate this title to everyone who is dealing with judgement and hate. Just keep growing ... and always remember what’s ahead and what might be possible,” she said.
ON TILT: Four time Grand Slam winner Aryna Sabalenka dropped the first set in a tiebreak against Russian player Ekaterina Alexandrova, who won five of the last six points Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) on Saturday advanced to the women’s doubles quarter-finals of the Toronto Masters with Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko, while in the women’s singles world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula were upset in fourth-round matches. Hsieh and Ostapenko defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Quinn Gleason of the US in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), while Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien (吳芳嫺) and Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴) were knocked out in the round of 16. Hsieh and Ostapenko are scheduled to play Ann Li of the US and Denmark’s Clara Tauson today. Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka suffered a blow to her
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Sunday advanced to the women’s doubles semi-finals at the WTA 1000 Toronto Masters, edging past an unseeded pair in straight sets. The fifth-seeded duo of Hsieh and Ostapenko rallied from an early deficit in the opening set before prevailing 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in their quarter-final against Ann Li of the US and Clara Tauson of Denmark in more than 90 minutes on hard court. Hsieh and Ostapenko were playing together for the first time in six months as a warm-up for the US Open later this month. They had
Freddie Freeman apparently avoided serious injury on Wednesday when the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first baseman took a frightening tumble down the stairs and into the visitors’ dugout while trying to catch a foul popup in the eighth inning. Freeman was not sure whether he would play when the Dodgers begin an important four-game series with the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers, but he is grateful his freefall to the dugout floor was not worse. “I didn’t hit my head, so that was the key part there,” Freeman said. “I am sore. Kneecaps are sore. Shoulder is sore. Hand sore. Wrist sore. I mean, I
Surfing’s 11-time world champion Kelly Slater showed he still has what it takes to foot it with the best at the Tahiti Pro on Saturday, scoring the highest heat total of the first day in huge and wild waves. The 54-year-old, who retired from full-time competition in 2024, clocked up an excellent two-wave total of 16.23 out of 20 to advance to the second round and into a mouth-watering match-up with Brazil’s three-time uworld champion, Gabriel Medina. “It’s sort of like riding a bike, but you forget how gnarly Teahupo’o is,” said Slater, who has won the event five times in 20
RSS