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“It’s a surreal feeling,” Shelton said. “It’s
been a long week, not an easy path to the final. My best tennis
came out when it mattered most. I was clutch, I persevered, I
was resilient. All the qualities I like to see in myself.”
Shelton will move up a spot to a career-high sixth in the world.
He beat Khachanov a night after topping second-seeded Taylor
Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American semifinal match.
“I feel like it was a perfect storm for me this week,” Shelton
said. “A lot of tight matches and long matches. I played some of
the best tennis that I’ve played this year.”
The winner had seven of his 16 aces in the third set, and ended
the match by winning 14 consecutive points on serve. He held at
love to force the final-set tiebreaker.
“He went for his shots, trusted the work that he’s put in and he
executed,” said Bryan Shelton, his father and coach. “Sometimes
you do and sometimes you don’t. But it’s always nice when you
can leave a tournament and hold a trophy up in your hands
because it’s rare.”
The 29-year-old Khachanov has seven career victories — all on
hard courts. In the semifinals, he survived a match point in
another third-set tiebreaker against top-seeded Alexander Zverev.
“It’s a positive, a great tournament, a great run,” Khachanov
said. “I had some great battles and great wins against top
guys.”
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the 2023 winner in Toronto — and No.
2 Carlos Alcaraz skipped the expanded event as they prepare the
U.S. 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.
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