Ben Sheltonās breakout 2025 season continued in a big way at the Canadian Open, where the 22-year-old stunned fellow American Taylor Fritz in the semifinals to reach his first career Masters 1000 final. In doing so, Shelton etched his name alongside two of the greatest U.S. players of all time, Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras.
To make the final, Shelton navigated a brutal pathātaking down two top-10 opponents in back-to-back matches. He first defeated World No. 10 Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals, then powered past World No. 4 Fritz to punch his ticket to the title match.
At just 22 years and 291 days, Shelton became the youngest American to defeat top-10 opponents in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of a Masters 1000 event since Pete Sampras did it at the 1992 Cincinnati Open.
And that wasnāt the only slice of history. Shelton also became the youngest American to reach a Masters 1000 final since Andy Roddick did it in Toronto in 2004, when he was 21. Now ranked No. 7 in the world, Shelton will face Karen Khachanov in the final as he looks to secure his first Masters 1000 title and the third title of his ATP career.
Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick when the Amercan reached the Masters 1000 final in Toronto in 2004. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Shelton reflects on his game: āThere are a lot of things to be proud aboutā
After his semifinal victory over Fritz, Ben Shelton expressed excitement over the strides heās made in his game throughout the Canadian Open. The 22-year-old has dropped just two sets across five matches en route to the final.
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āIāve seen so many big improvements in my game this week, thatās what Iām most happy about, how Iām executing, how little Iām hesitating, how Iām returning,ā Shelton said. āThere are a lot of things to be proud about and beating two top 10 guys back to back is huge for meā.
