Ben Shelton ends the greatest week (and a bit) of his career so far by becoming the youngest American Masters 1000 champion since Andy Roddick, when he won the 2004 Miami Open at just 21 years old. After back-to-back top 10 wins, a tense final went the way of the American, as he edged out Karen Khachanov 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3).<\/p>\n
While many might see Shelton as just a big server, this week he proved he has more to his game than just power. He showed his ability to fight back from adversity and come up clutch when it mattered most. After winning final-set tiebreakers in earlier rounds against Brandon Nakashima and Flavio Cobolli, he did the same in the final.<\/p>\n
Despite having set points of his own, Shelton lost the first set and conceded in his post-match interview that he was getting bullied around the court. The young American showed great maturity to compose himself, problem solving mid-match to adopt a more aggressive style of play and unpin himself from deep behind the baseline.<\/p>\n
Shelton fought fire with fire, and reaped the reward. He broke the Russian’s serve for the first time, before holding from 0-40 down to win the second set and take the final to a decider.<\/p>\n
There was not a single break point for either player in the final set, and half of the games played were won to love. Shelton held his nerve in the deciding set tiebreak to win the biggest title of his career, and show those who didn’t already know that he is a serious contender for Grand Slams in the future.<\/p>\n
In just his third year on Tour, Shelton’s maiden Masters 1000 title will see him climb to the dizzy heights of World #6. What is arguably most impressive about Shelton is something you can’t teach; he seems to be right at home on the big stage.<\/p>\n