Ben Shelton's biggest career win sparks Jannik Sinner comparisions

It's easy to forget that World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was a slow starter. The Italian toiled for several years before finally capturing a Masters 1000 title at the 2023 Canadian Open. That win propelled him to new heights, as he won his first major less than six months later at the Australian Open, and added three more Masters 1000 titles in 2024. 

Will the floodgates open similarly for Ben Shelton?

On Thursday, the American captured his maiden Masters 1000 title with a hard-fought 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 win over Karen Khachanov in the Canadian Open final. Shelton went through his first four years on the Tour with only a handful of ATP 250 and ATP 500 titles — two to be exact — but never coming close to winning the more prestigious events.

After his landmark win — which pushed him to a new career-high World No. 6 ranking — Shelton was asked about the Sinner comparisons.

"I think everyone has a different path. Everyone's story is written differently. I've kind of done it my way," he said, via ATP Tour. "...I hope that this week kind of kick starts me and gets me more consistent with the type of tennis that I want to play day-in and day-out. It's certainly going to push me to work harder. I feel like I have a good grasp now on the things that really work for me against guys who are playing some of the best tennis in the world, and the things that I need to continue to work on."

Shelton went through a gauntlet of tough opponents to secure his first ATP1000 title, beating World No. 4 Taylor Fritz in the semifinals, No. 8 Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals and No. 22 Flavio Cobolli in the fourth round. In the process, the 22-year-old became the youngest American to win a Masters 1000 title since Andy Roddick captured the Miami Open in 2004. He also became only the sixth American since 1990 to win a Masters 1000 title before turning 23.