OMNIUM BANQUE NATIONALE

August 13, 2026

Ben Shelton

Press Conference

B. SHELTON/L. Tien

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the press conference of Ben Shelton. First of all, congrats Ben. Another Masters 1000 final here in Canada. Are you looking forward to defend year title from Toronto last year here in Montreal?

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, sure. Blessed to be in this position. I feel like it's been a roller coaster year for me, so to find some consistency to that I've found in these past couple of weeks and being playing here for a title is huge.

Q. First of all, are you okay? Any in limitations with the injury late in the game?

BEN SHELTON: Zero. Just some blood. That's something that I'm used to. Nothing at all.

Q. Congrats on the win. You're in the final without losing a set this week in Montreal. Does the road to go to the final I won't say easy, but do you think it's going to be that way when you start the tournament knowing I'm going to play a final, not losing a set, winning pretty easy match?

BEN SHELTON: No, not at all. And I think it would be disrespectful to say that any of these matches have been easy.

I think that in different parts of the match I was in definitely serious trouble in the first -- in the third round matches against Jenson and against Joao.

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

Obviously my path to the final was different last year, winning some 7-6 in the thirds, and I think that in a way it's good to be able to feel that, your back against the wall, to be battle tested going into the finals, the finals ended up being 7-6 in the third as well.

On the other hand, you're playing a lot of matches, and the quicker that you can get off the court, the better shape that you're in physically going into that final. So I think that there's a give and take, for sure.

Q. Congrats, Ben. I was wondering when the contact with the wall happened and you see the blood, is there a part of you that says, oh, maybe I should have taken it easy considering the score or do you always play at full tilt no matter what's the score?

BEN SHELTON: No, I never thought that.

Q. Brendon Nakashima awaits now for the final. You have matchups with him before. You won all of them, but a lot of those sets have gone to the tiebreak. What kind of threat does he present for you?

BEN SHELTON: No, he's a great player. His game has gotten better and better each year. His forehand has turned into a huge weapon. His serve has 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.

He's played great this week, played an outstanding level today against Jodar, and he's a force to be reckoned with on every surface.

So I think it will be a great match. I think it will be a battle, one that I'm really looking forward to. A little bit different style than some of the other guys I've played this week, and I think that it's a great matchup up for the fans being the finals of this tournament.

Q. Ben, the earlier this week we talked to you about having a legacy here in Canada. You didn't want to take it too far. Now that you're one win away from defending the title, how special would it be to win back-to-back, be able to defend your first Masters 1000 title?

BEN SHELTON: I think, yeah. It would be really cool.

I don't know how much there is to say about it. I love being able to compete at a high level on the back end of tournaments. Playing for titles is where I want to be at, 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.