Ben Shelton extended his winning streak at the Canadian Masters to 11 matches after easing past compatriot Learner Tien to reach the final.

The American fifth seed spent just under 90 minutes on the court before securing a 6-2, 6-3 victory in Montreal without dropping serve. Shelton produced 22 winners and capitalised on his rival’s costly 30 unforced errors to clinch his 100th Tour-level win on hardcourt. The victory has also guaranteed that he will remain in the top 10 next week, regardless of how he performs in the final.

Shelton, who is yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament, is the first man to reach back-to-back Canadian Masters finals since Rafael Nadal, who was also the last player to successfully defend his title at the event. The event is unique compared to others in that it alternates between two cities (Montreal and Toronto).

“I think it would be disrespectful to say that any of these matches have been easy,” Shelton said of his latest run.

“In different parts of the match I was definitely in serious trouble in the first (set) — in the third round matches against Jenson (Brooksby) and against Joao (Fonseca).

“To be able to finish it in straight sets was huge, but this tournament has been nothing free, nothing close to easy.”

The 23-year-old has already won three titles this year, which is the most he has ever achieved in a single season on the ATP Tour. He won two ATP 500 events in Dallas and Munich, as well as a 250 in Stuttgart. However, Shelton has previously admitted he would like to work on his consistency after also failing to win back-to-back matches at nine tournaments since January.

“I love being able to compete at a high level on the back end of tournaments,” he said. “Playing for titles is where I want to be, no matter where it is- 250, 500, Masters, obviously, Grand Slams as well is the ultimate goal.

“But for me to be here one year later, back up, and have the opportunity to back up what I did last year is super special, and obviously going to leave it all out there on the court.”

Jodar stopped in his tracks by Nakashima

Rafael Jodar’s bid for his first Masters 1000 title, which would have also secured his top 10 debut next week, was ended by Brandon Nakashima. The Spaniard was beaten 7-6(3), 6-4 by the American, who is seeded eight places lower than him in 28th spot.

It is the fifth time in 2026 that Nakashima has beaten a top 20 player, a big improvement on last season when he went 1-12 against such opposition. As a result of his win, he has moved up to a career-high of 22 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

“I didn’t play my best level of tennis, but he also played well,” Jodar said of Nakashima afterwards.

“He especially played the important points of the match better than me and that’s one of the reasons why he won the match.

“He was returning well at the start of the match and it was difficult for me today to find the rhythm.”

Montreal will be the most significant final Nakashima has played in his career, with his four previous final appearances on the Tour all being at 250 events. He has never beaten Shelton and has only won one set in their five meetings. However, that was also at the Canadian Masters 10 months ago.

“It’s going to be an exciting final,” he said.

“I’ve played Ben a bunch of times. We all know each other really well. So there’s no secrets there.

“For me, playing my first Masters 1000 final, it’s an exciting time for me. I’m just trying to focus on myself.”

The upcoming final is the first All-American final at the event since 1995, when Andre Agassi defeated Pete Sampras to win the title.