"Humble and Hungry": Ben Shelton secures first ATP 1000 event final spot with straight-set win over Taylor Fritz

America’s Ben Shelton has produced arguably the biggest win of his career as he defeated fellow countryman Taylor Fritz at the Canadian Open. The 22-year-old got the better of the world number four in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinal of the competition in Toronto on Wednesday.

With that win, Shelton cemented his spot in the final of an ATP 1000 event for the first time in his career. He is also set to register his career-best ranking and become the world number six in the updated rankings on Monday, overtaking Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. On the day, Shelton was far superior to Fritz as he produced 21 winners, 10 more than his opponent. Shelton did not commit a single double fault. In comparison, Fritz ended up committing three double faults. Shelton won 86 percent of the points on first serve. In contrast, Fritz won just 68 percent points on his first serve. After winning the match, Shelton wrote on the TV camera that he is ‘humble and hungry’ while entering an ‘uncharted territory’. "Even more uncharted territory. Humble and Hungry," he wrote.

Talking after the match, Shelton admitted that he had to play out of his skin to get the better of a player like Fritz, who, according to him, is ‘one of the world’s best’ in doing certain things on the court. “When he’s standing in one corner, he’s one of the best in the world at being behind the ball and hitting it harder and harder every time,” he said. “I knew I had to keep him moving and I did a great job of that… I felt like I had the ball on a string. I’m just really excited to see myself executing like this, not wondering if the shot is going to go in or out, but expecting it to go in…”

Shelton will next go up against Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who saved match points to eventually defeat Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the semifinal with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 7-6. Talking after the match, Khachanov admitted that he had to ‘dig deep’ to come out on top against the world number three. “I had to dig deep and lift my level,” said Khachanov. “It was a very demanding, very mental, very physical match. So I’m very happy to get the win after losing some easy ones to him in recent years. Today was a real close one. I was match point down, if the ball touches the net and drops over we wouldn’t be talking now.”

On the other hand, Zverev, who suffered a defeat to Khachanov after three consecutive wins, stated that he is trying to overcome his weaknesses. Zverev stated that despite the defeat, he is trying to move on, knowing that his next assignment, the Cincinnati Open, is just a few days away.

“I thought I was very brave in the tie-break, I just missed,” said Zverev. “That's one thing that I wanted to change, it's one thing I wanted to work on… I missed some balls that I wish I wouldn't have missed, but that's the way it is. Generally I wasn't feeling the ball well, so it's normal that you miss a little bit more than usual in these kind of situations. But that's okay, I mean, we move on. I have another chance in a few days time in Cincinnati.”

It will only be the second meeting between Shelton and Khachanov in professional tennis. In the only previous meeting between the two players, which came in the round of 32 of the Indian Wells earlier this year, it was Shelton who came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5.