The final is set in Montreal, and it will be an all-American showdown between defending champion Ben Shelton and Brandon Nakashima.
Shelton has looked the class of the field from the opening round, reaching the championship match without dropping a set and avenging his two previous defeats to Learner Tien with a commanding semi-final performance.
Nakashima, meanwhile, has produced the best Masters 1000 run of his career, backing up wins over Luciano Darderi and Rafael Jódar to reach his first final above ATP 250 level.
On paper, Shelton has a clear edge. He leads the head-to-head 5-0, with four of those victories coming on outdoor hard courts, and arrives in the final unbeaten in ATP Tour finals this season after lifting titles in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart.
Nakashima’s record in championship matches is more modest at 1-3, with his lone ATP title coming in San Diego in 2022, but he has been striking the ball as cleanly as anyone this week
If Shelton serves as he has throughout the tournament, he’ll start as favourite to become the first man since Rafael Nadal in 2018-19 to successfully defend the Canadian Masters title.
However, Nakashima’s consistency from the baseline and ability to absorb pace will hopefully make this a more competitive contest than their head-to-head record might suggest. Here’s how the semi-finals played out.
Day Eleven National Bank Open 2026 Semifinal Results
Match Recap
Ben Shelton def. Learner Tien 6-2, 6-3
Ben Shelton finally solved the Learner Tien puzzle with his most complete all-around performance of the week, defeating his fellow American to reach a second consecutive Canadian Masters 1000 final.
Having lost both of their previous encounters, Shelton came in with something to prove and never allowed Tien to settle into the grinding baseline exchanges that had troubled him before.
After saving break points early in both of his opening service games, the defending champion found his rhythm, served superbly and matched Tien’s consistency from the back of the court while adding far more firepower.
Shelton didn’t drop serve all match, won 81% of his first-serve points and has now reached the final without dropping a set.
In a weakened draw, he’s looked the best player in the field from the opening round and is one win away from successfully defending his title.
Match Stats
Highlights
Brandon Nakashima def. Rafael Jódar 7-6(3), 6-4
Brandon Nakashima ended Rafael Jódar’s hard court run to reach the biggest final of his career with a composed, high-quality performance.
The opening set was finely balanced until Nakashima took control of the tie-break with his typically clean ball-striking.
Jódar competed hard in the second and created four break points as Nakashima served for the match, but the American held his nerve, leaning on an excellent first serve before eventually converting his fifth match point.
It was one of the best Nakashima performances I’ve seen from him. He struck 28 winners, won 81% of his first-serve points and consistently rushed Jódar with the depth and pace of his groundstrokes.
Match Stats
Highlights
National Bank Open 2026 Day 12 Final
- (5) Ben Shelton vs (28) Brandon Nakashima
