Shelton joins Murray, Djokovic Nadal with back-to-back Montreal title

Montreal, Aug 14 (IANS) Ben Shelton became the first man since fellow lefty Rafael Nadal in 2019 to win back-to-back Canadian Open titles when he beat Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the final.

He dovetailed with another member of the Big Three, Novak Djokovic, becoming the first man to win the tournament without dropping a set since the Serb 10 years ago.

With his victory, Shelton became the fourth man this century to successfully defend the Canada title after Andy Murray (2009-10), Novak Djokovic (2011-12) and Nadal (2018-19).

By defeating fellow American Nakashima in Montreal, Shelton improved to 6-0 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series. The lefty has now won four titles this season, having also triumphed in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart, taking his overall tally of ATP Tour titles to seven, according to ATP stats.

Nakashima, who was competing in his first Masters 1000 final, was seeking his second ATP Tour title, almost four years after winning his first in 2022, when he triumphed on home soil in San Diego.

Although the 25-year-old fell short in the Montreal final, Nakashima will leave Canada with plenty of good memories. With his run to the championship match, Nakashima ensured he will climb to a career-high No. 22 in the ATP Rankings.

After Shelton earned his first break of serve against Nakashima with a blistering return winner at 3-3 in the first set, there was no stopping the 23-year-old. Shelton dictated the tempo of the clash with a dominant serving display and consistently came out on top, firing off his forehand wing. The American faced no break points throughout the match and converted two of the four break points he earned, ATP reports.

–IANS

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