Shelton Makes it 10 on the Trot in Canada

The only top 10 player left in the Montreal quarterfinals has taken another step towards defending his title. 

Ben Shelton raced past Jakub Mensik on Tuesday evening in Montreal, 6-3, 6-1, to stretch his winning streak to ten at the Canadian Masters. 

Shelton joins compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the semifinals, with another American – Learner Tien – still in action. 

If Tien can come away with the win it would mark the first time that three Americans have reached the semifinals of the Canadian Masters since 1992.

Shelton hit 14 forehand winners to just six for Mensik, and made just one unforced error of that wing as he cruised to victory in 72 minutes. He finished the night with 18 winners and just three unforced errors.

The dominant performance is exactly what the American southpaw is looking for at this stage of the season. He will face either Tien or Daniel Merida in the last four as he continues his bid to complete the first successful title defense at the Canadian Masters since Rafael Nadal in 2019. 

“It felt great,” Shelton said. “I was really happy with my return game and the way that I played from the ground from point one. For me, it’s where I want to be at – I think that the level that I maintained throughout the match was really high.” 

Shelton never faced a break point and converted four of his six opportunities against the hard-serving Mensik. 

“To be returning the way I did tonight against one of the best servers of the world, against someone who I’ve had a lot of trouble breaking in the times that we’ve played, it’s super validating for sure and just the tip of the iceberg.” 

Shelton, who defeated Karen Khachanov in last year’s final in Toronto, is now 27-7 in his last 34 matches on North American soil (since last July). He’s also 12-2 lifetime at the Canadian Masters. 

He’s 31-12 on the season. 

20-year-old Mensik drops to 28-14 on the season and 10-12 against the Top 10 lifetime. He drops to 2-2 lifetime against Shelton (1-2 on hard courts).