MONTREAL — With booming serves and punishing forehands, but also swinging volleys and precise drop shots, Ben Shelton became a repeat champion at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.

His 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Brandon Nakashima in Montreal Thursday gave him his fourth title of 2026, and the variety he displayed to achieve it lent credence to the notion he’s prepared to hang with tennis titans.

Shelton, who came to Montreal ranked 10th in the world and left ranked sixth, didn’t face any of those titans in this tournament. And the predictability of his game didn’t enable him to fare any better against them than anyone else through his first four years on tour, going a combined 1-10 against top-ranked Jannik Sinner, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.

But the six-foot-four lefty is no longer just a huge-serving, forehand-pounding slugger. His performance since the beginning of 2026 has shown how he's also developed finesse — and the type of all-around game needed to challenge the world’s best players.

It was showcased in championship performances in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart earlier this year, and it was on full display over these 10 days in Montreal, where his ace count fell slightly below average but his precision on........

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