Ben Shelton Learns the Hard Way Not to Praise Toronto in Front of Montreal Crowd

Whether it be Toronto or Montreal, Ben Shelton loves playing in Canada, as the American became the first player to defend the Canadian Open title since 2019. Having won the title in Montreal, Shelton had something to say for Toronto as well in his on-court speech, which had a mixed reaction from the crowd.

“I want to thank my team. It’s crazy that we were here a year ago. Well, I guess in Toronto. I’m not going to say anything bad about Toronto. I love Toronto too,” said Shelton during his on-court speech. “But Montreal just as much.”

However, when the defending champion praised Toronto in front of the Montreal faithful, the American was met with some boos, which immediately turned into loud cheers once Shelton showed his love for Montreal as well.

One could argue that Shelton loved playing in Montreal more than Toronto, as the American did not drop a set in his title defense, while winning against the likes of Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien, and Brandon Nakashima in the final.

Ben Shelton just discovered that Canadian tennis rivalries run deeper than geography. Stay tuned to catch every awkward moment and fierce matchup on the court.

Compared to his title run in Toronto last year, Shelton had to play three three-set matches, in which the American clinched victory in the deciding-set tiebreak, including the final win against Karen Khachanov.

The unique nature of the Canadian Open, hosted between two host cities in alternate years, often leads to fun on-court speeches when a player wins consecutive titles.

The Canadian Open title has come at a vital time for Shelton, who would gain a lot of confidence from the successful title defense ahead of the Cincinnati Open and the US Open.

With the Cincinnati Open and the US Open ahead, Shelton will look to make more gains in terms of points and rankings by making deep runs at those events. The American found it difficult to sustain the physical pressure of playing Canada and Cincinnati back-to-back, as he could not offer much in his loss to Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati last year.

However, this year Shelton has been in tremendous Tour form, having won four titles and reaching seven quarterfinals.

With the US Open only a few weeks away, Shelton will look to get his Slam results straight this year, after early exits at the French Open and at Wimbledon. He is a former semifinalist in New York, as he reached the last four in 2023. Shelton will look to make up for his last year’s US Open campaign, which was cut short, as he was forced to retire with a shoulder injury in the third-round match against Adrian Mannarino.

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