What a stupendous week it’s been for rising ATP sensation, Ben Shelton. After consecutive setbacks at Wimbledon and the Citi Open, the 22-year-old has made a remarkable comeback on the court. His racket skills made a fabulous statement. After besting his compatriot, Taylor Fritz, on Wednesday night, Shelton has achieved the biggest milestone of his career to-date. But wait, there’s more. He can take this up a notch if he clinches the title in Canada this week by ending a two-decade long wait for his home. While everyone revels in Shelton’s inspirational campaign, his US Open mixed doubles partner just dropped a heartfelt reaction to his invincible Toronto run.

The 22-year-old dominated Fritz in straight sets to enter his maiden ATP 1000 Masters final with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-3. It was a one-sided battle as Shelton delivered strong serves coupled with effective baseline shots without giving Fritz any stray points. With his comfortable victory over Fritz, Shelton has become the youngest American (at 22 years and 291 days) to reach any Masters 1000 final in 21 years. Former pro Andy Roddick achieved this feat at the Canadian Open, in Toronto, at 21 years and 330 days back in 2004. Shelton’s impressive win garnered an instant reaction on Instagram from Taylor Townsend, his US Open mixed doubles partner and WTA No.1 in doubles.

How did Shelton react to his win, you ask? The American wrote on the courtside camera’s lens, “Even more uncharted territory. Humble and Hungry,” Could this win prove to be Shelton’s shot to the top of the ATP? After all, Jannik Sinner’s meteoric rise in ATP singles across the tour began with a title triumph at the Canadian Open. This could become a pattern for Shelton too. When given this parallel with Sinner at the post-match interview, Shelton said, “Yeah, it’s huge. Talked about how the Masters were the one level of tournaments that I’ve been struggling with, and my next step is being able to excel in these tournaments. So, taking that first step and getting my first deep run under my belt is exciting.”

This past week alone has been the most significant week of Shelton’s professional journey. His ability to adapt and tailor his strategy and game plan on court under the bright lights to force his opponent’s hand has been remarkable. Remember the QF battle against the Demon? His swift response despite his father’s better judgment of not engaging in extended rallies with Alex de Minaur proved to be the cornerstone trick up the sleeve for his triumph. Shelton believed that it was the way to go.

Now, after his SF clash against Fritz, when Shelton was asked to introspect on this event’s journey and his impressive development that aided his victories, he said, “For me, just resilience. Tonight, things were easier because everything was clicking. But the bigger wins are the wins where everything’s not clicking. Finding a way to get through those tough matches where I’m down a break in the third, or the other guy’s serving for the match, where I could be out of the tournament, those are the ones that are really special for me.” Now comes the part that Shelton believes he has pocketed major progress.

Ben Shelton reflects on his “big improvements” after entering the final in Toronto

Last month, Ben Shelton was struggling to maintain consistency despite good performances. It became evident at the All England Club, where he couldn’t overcome World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. Then at the Citi Open, he failed to enter the summit clash after losing out to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semis. He was consistently making deep runs but was unable to convert them. This pattern changed for good at the Canadian Open.

“I’ve seen so many big improvements in my game this week, that’s what I’m most happy about, how I’m executing, how little I’m hesitating, how I’m returning,” Shelton said during the post-match interview. “There are a lot of things to be proud about and beating two Top 10 guys back to back is huge for me.” Shelton is yet to win a title in 2025. Earlier this year, he did reach the ultimate battle of the BMW Open. However, German pro Alexander Zverev bested him there while lifting the trophy, eventually.

Heading into the Canadian Open final, Shelton will face Russia’s Karen Khachanov. The latter is coming off his own win over Zverev in the semis. Interestingly, there’s one key aspect that may work in Shelton’s favor against the Russian player: his clean H2H record. In their only meeting, during the R32 of Indian Wells back in March, Shelton bested him in straight sets.

What are your thoughts on Shelton’s prospects in the final on Thursday? Will he eventually beat Khachanov to clinch his career’s first Masters 1000 trophy? Let us know in the comments below.