Sheldon becomes the youngest American Master Champion in 22 years – Tennis Now
Chris Oddo | Thursday, August 7, 2025
Blood, sweat, tears, and finally – victory. Ben Shelton gave everything in Toronto and took the hardware home is the youngest American to win the Masters since Andy Roddick in 2004, beating Karen Khachanov 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-6 (3) in two hours and 47 minutes.
Shelton is the first American to win a championship in Canada since Roddick in 2003, and he will finish his career-high sixth place.
“I feel very lucky,” Sheldon said. “Just there is just such an opportunity. The joy I feel today is not only because of the victory. It is because of the people I spend with every day.”
It was a tough fight against Khachanov, whose second professional meeting allowed Khachanov to jump out of the lead with a solid first set tiebreak.
But Sheldon will not be denied. The 22-year-old American answered, winning his third and largest ATP title in the decided decisive game.
Sheldon defeated No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur and No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz to advance to his debut ATP Masters 1000 final and earlier in the game defeated Brandon Nakashima and Flavio Cobolli, and earlier in the game, defeating Brandon Nakashima and Flavio Cobolli.
When the victory was won, Sheldon headed to the crowd to share the moment with his coach and Father Brian. His coach encouraged him to step onto the court and faced Khachanov early, a strategy that brought dividends.
“I like the way he guided me,” Sheldon said. “He usually leaves me something. He gives me a lot of advice. He knows me better than anyone in the world, so he qualifies me for these advice.”
Khachanov has scored more than six years between the finals but cannot summon the magic he showed when he won the Paris championship in 2018.
Still, after hard work, he will still be ranked 12th in the rankings, which allowed him to eliminate top seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, saving the match point.
“It’s definitely still a positive, great game, great game, great game, great game,” he said. “I had some great fights and had a huge victory with the top guys. That’s why I’m commending for this, and that’s all.
“I mean, you can win, you can lose, so you just try to recombine and get ready for the next game, which is another Masters, and then the Grand Slam. So it’s tennis, so sometimes you have to recombine and get used to the next game, get ready for the next game.”
