Ben Shelton has reached new ground in his professional tennis career.
After forgoing his final year of college to turn pro in 2022, the same year he entered his first US Open as a 19-year-old, and it a decision that has paid off.
Three years later Shelton is competing at the Canadian Open and he has now advanced to his first Masters 1000 final.
He has a chance to win the biggest title of his career so far and it comes at an ideal time with the US Open on the horizon.
Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesBen Shelton is the youngest American Masters 1000 finalist since Andy Roddick in 2004
Ben Shelton came through successive final set tiebreak victories against Brandon Nakashima and Flavio Cobolli in Canada, and he has not looked back since.
Shelton snapped Alex de Minaur’s eight-match win streak in straight sets, before Shelton beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 to advance to his first Masters 1000 final.
At the age of 22, Shelton has now become the youngest American to reach a Masters 1000 final since Andy Roddick in 2004.
In that year, Roddick reached the Miami Open final, which he went on to win, in addition to the Canadian Open.
Roddick faced his kryptonite Roger Federer in the final, and the 20-time Grand Slam champion eased to a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesBen Shelton can achieve new ranking career-high if he wins the Canadian Open
Shelton not only has a chance to win his first Masters 1000 title in Canada, but there is also something else at stake.
If Shelton becomes a Masters 1000 champion, he will rise to a career-high ranking of number six, leapfrogging Novak Djokovic in the process.
Shelton has the tricky task of defeating Karen Khachanov, who overcame Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals after saving a match point.
But if there is one thing about Shelton, he is fearless and has expressed plenty of confidence in his game throughout 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.
“There are a lot of things to be proud about and beating two Top 10 guys back to back is huge for me.”