Ben Shelton defeated compatriot Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, advancing to his first Masters 1000 final.
After defeating Washington Open champion Alex de Minaur in straight sets, Shelton produced a fine display to dispatch Fritz, winning 6-4 6-3.
The big-serving American will now face Karen Khachanov in the Canadian Open final after the Russian defeated top seed Alexander Zverev in the other semi-final match.
Shelton broke into the ATP top 10 for the first time earlier this year and has followed up this breakthrough by producing a consistent stream of high-level performances in Toronto.
With his victory over Fritz, Shelton confirmed his status as one of the world’s best players, while putting himself in the same conversation with Pete Sampras.
Ben Shelton rivals Pete Sampras
Ben Shelton made American tennis history on Wednesday night.
As per OptaAce, Ben Shelton is the youngest American to achieve successive ATP top 10 wins in an ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and semi-final since Pete Sampras.
Shelton was aged 22 years and 291 days when he achieved the feat on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Sampras was aged 20 years and 364 days when he achieved the feat at the 1992 Cincinnati Open.
If Shelton can go on to have a career anything like Sampras’, he will have achieved a great deal in the sport. After all, Sampras is a 14-time Grand Slam singles champion.
The 22-year-old will hope to create further history against Karen Khachanov on Thursday night. The pair have met one time previously on the ATP Tour, at the 2025 Indian Wells tournament: a match Shelton won in straight sets, 6-3 7-5.
Ben Shelton’s chance to overtake Novak Djokovic
As per the ATP Live Rankings, Ben Shelton is on 3,970 ATP points. If he defeats Khachanov on Thursday night, the American would overtake Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings.
Djokovic is currently on 4,130 points. A victory over Khachanov would see Shelton climb to 4,320 points and into the world number six spot.
This would certainly be a monumental achievement if realised. Not many players can say they have been ranked above Novak Djokovic while he is still near his best.
Meanwhile, Karen Khachanov has already risen four places to number 12 in the world. If he defeats Shelton, the Russian would rise to world number eight.
