Ben Shelton repeated as National Bank Open presented by Rogers champion as he bested fellow American Brandon Nakshima 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Stade IGA’s centre court. This was the first all-American final since 1995, when Andre Agassi defeated Pete Sampras at Jarry Park. The 23-year-old left-hander became the first repeat victor at the NBO since Rafael Nadal in 2019. “For me, this week was a massive stepping stone,” Ben Shelton said. “I would say even more than what I did in Toronto last year, with the way that I did it. I thought I was much more clinical, more focused. I was an elite returner at times, but the way that I was able to break serve and the fashion with which I did it, my ability to play defence and offence, I’m excited with the way that I’m progressing throughout this season on the hard courts. I’ve felt that each tournament I’ve gotten better and better, and obviously we’re still early in this U.S. Open swing and I have a lot of hard-court tennis through the rest of the year, so I’m just really looking forward to see what kind of damage I can do moving forward.”

Consistency was the key to his repeat as the fifth-seeded Shelton didn't drop a set in the tournament. In the final he had serves clocked at 228 kph and never surrendered a break point in the 1:27 match. Shelton’s victory boosted him to being sixth best in the world, up four from his 10th place ranking. “He’s of course established now and inside the top 10,” Brandon Nakshima said. “This week, he’s been playing at an insane level. It really has been incredible to see his career so far, and he’s still even young, still has his whole career ahead of him. He’s going to be a top player for his whole career.”

Prior to accepting the championship trophy Shelton told the crowd, “tennis-wise, this has been one of the best weeks of my life,” Shelton said. “I played some of the best tennis that I’ve ever played and to be able to put that on display in front of you has been an honour.”