MONTREAL — Brandon Nakashima had never reached an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal before this week. Now he’s playing for the title. The 28th-seeded American advanced to the National Bank Open men’s singles final Wednesday, rolling to a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over rising star and crowd favourite Rafael Jodar in the semifinals. “Going into the tournament, I knew I was playing at a really high level, so I knew that I could go on a deep run here,” said Nakashima, who won his lone tour title at the ATP 250 San Diego Open. “Obviously wasn’t thinking about the final or anything.” “I’m super happy right now,” he added. “Everything that I’ve done to get to this moment, all the hard work and everything, just so happy that it’s all paying off, and can’t wait for tomorrow.” Nakashima will have his hands full in Thursday’s final, where he’ll face defending champion Ben Shelton in an all-American showdown. The fifth-seeded Shelton needed only 84 minutes to breeze past fellow American Learner Tien 6-2, 6-3 later on Wednesday, reaching the championship match without dropping a set. Shelton advances to his second career Masters 1000 final after winning the Canadian Open last season in Toronto. This year, he capitalized on a weakened field that featured several withdrawals — including world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime — along with early exits from some of the tournament’s top seeds. His highest-ranked opponent in Montreal was the 12th-seeded Tien, who revealed after the match that he’s been nursing an arm injury for three weeks. But Shelton poured cold water on any talk of an easy path to the final. “It’d be disrespectful to say that any of these matches have been easy,” he said. “To be able to finish it in straight sets was huge, but this tournament’s been nothing close to easy.” Nakashima, meanwhile, dictated rallies throughout his match, particularly on serve. The 25-year-old won 68 per cent of his first-service points while putting 85 per cent of his first serves in play on centre court at IGA Stadium. “My serve and forehand were definitely the keys for today,” Nakashima said. “I knew that I had to hit my forehand with a lot of pace, try to get him on the run because if he was doing that to me, I wouldn’t be in a good position. “I knew I had to be aggressive, try and come forward as much as possible, and luckily I was able to hit my serves when I needed to.” The 19-year-old Jodar, seeded 20th, landed 59 per cent of his first serves and won just 51 per cent of his second-serve points against Nakashima’s aggressive returns, losing the match in two hours two minutes. The fiery Spaniard showed his frustration at times, smacking his racket against his head and yelling after errors. “He was playing good,” Jodar said. “He was returning well at the start of the match and it was a bit difficult for me today to find the rhythm.” The loss ends a stellar run for Jodar, who was trying to become the youngest Canadian Open finalist since countryman Rafael Nadal in 2005. Jodar also reached the D.C. Open final last week and has rapidly climbed the ATP rankings in his first season on tour, posting a 30-13 record. He was No. 11 in the ATP’s live rankings entering Wednesday’s match after cracking the top 100 on March 30. “He’s the next up-and-coming player, so of course there’s a lot of excitement around him,” Nakashima said. “Everybody knows the talent he has, the level that he can produce. “It’s been a rise like we’ve never seen before.” The match ended with a wild, 10-minute game of long rallies and momentum swings as Nakashima served for the win at 5-4 in the second set. Jodar fought to stay alive with the crowd erupting into “Let’s go Ra-fa-el!” chants, forcing four break points, but Nakashima fended off each one. Jodar saved four match points in total, including two in that game, before failing to return Nakashima’s serve on the fifth. The first set went the distance, even though Nakashima lost only four points on serve while forcing six break-point chances — all successfully defended by Jodar. Nakashima ultimately took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak and claimed the set when Jodar sailed a lob long. Shelton, 23, then made quick work of the 20-year-old Lien, claiming the first set in 36 minutes. The world No. 10 was clinical on serve, striking five aces and saving all four break points he faced to earn a chance to defend his title. Shelton is a heavy favourite to repeat and already owns a 5-0 record against Nakashima. Not that he’s looking past his fellow American. “He’s a great player. His game’s gotten better and better each year,” Shelton said. “His forehand has turned into a huge weapon. His serve’s always been a massive weapon. He’s got a great world-class backhand, one of the best in the world, and he can play all-court tennis … played at an outstanding level today against Jodar. “It’ll be a battle, one that I’m really looking forward to.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2026. Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
