Toronto Masters: Khachanov Fights Past Zverev, To Face Shelton in the Final
Karen Khachanov booked his spot in the final of the ATP Toronto Masters with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) win against Alexander Zverev, while American Ben Shelton defeated fellow countryman Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 to enter the summit clash.
Khachanov progressed to the final after overcoming German top seed Zverev in a tightly-contested semi-final. On the other hand, Shelton got past Fritz in straight sets in the other semi-final.
The Russian, who had previously fallen short in two semi-finals in Canada, held his nerve this time. He saved a match point to level the deciding set at 6-6, as world number three Zverev struck a backhand that clipped the top of the net and fell on his side.
Zverev committed 44 unforced errors in the match that lasted nearly three hours, while Khachanov hit 29 winners and 34 unforced errors.
“I had to push myself, dig deep and give my all,” Khachanov said. “It was very tough, both physically and mentally.”
“We’ve had several matches before, and I’m glad to get this win after losing some of the earlier ones,” added Khachanov, who had lost to Zverev in the Tokyo Olympics singles final. “It was a hard battle — I even faced match point today.”
“I’m just happy that things turned in my favour in the end.”
Khachanov mentioned that it got very tense towards the close of the match. “When it comes down to the final tiebreak, you need to bring your best. You can’t afford to waste energy on negative thoughts. You never know what will happen, but you must give it your best.”
This will be Khachanov’s first final of the season, after having lost semi-final matches in Barcelona and Halle earlier this year.
Shelton Dominates Fritz to Enter Final
In the other semi-final, Shelton and Fritz had a brief delay due to a glitch in the electronic line-calling system before the match started.
However, the interruption didn’t trouble 22-year-old Shelton, the world number seven, who had beaten Alex de Minaur in the quarter-final. With the win over Fritz, Shelton now has back-to-back wins against top 10 players for the first time in his career.
US Open finalist Fritz had to save four break points in the third game, but was broken in the ninth, giving Shelton a chance to serve out the set.
In the second set, Shelton broke for a 3-2 lead with a well-executed lob over Fritz, then held serve to love to go up 5-3.
He completed the match with another break, after which Fritz smashed his racquet on his knee following a double fault on match point.
“I’m satisfied with the way I played and how I executed my game,” Shelton said.
“I’ve noticed huge progress in my game this week. What pleases me most is how I’m executing shots, how confidently I’m playing, and especially how well I’m returning. Defeating two top 10 players one after the other is a big achievement for me,” he added.
“I felt like I had full control of the ball,” Shelton remarked. “I’m thrilled to be playing like this — hitting with confidence and believing every shot will land well,” he concluded.
