It’s fair to say American players have dominated the Canadian Open in recent years. Jessica Pegula won the title in 2023 and 2024, then Ben Shelton clinched it in 2025. This year followed the same script, with three of the four Montreal semifinalists coming from the U.S. and Coco Gauff reaching the same stage in Toronto. It’s the first time American men have taken three of the four semifinal spots since Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, and MaliVai Washington managed it in 1992. With that history in mind, a reporter asked Shelton whether he and Pegula were trying to take over Canada. But Shelton had a fitting reply.

“I wouldn’t say that. That’s a crazy statement,” he said at the post-match press conference after reaching the semifinals of the Canadian Open. “Super happy for her (Pegula). A good friend, and I think she’s one of the most dangerous hard-court players. 100% year in, year out, always a contender at the US Open. But yeah, that’s a crazy question.”

Shelton has been the one carrying the American flag furthest in Montreal. After struggling for wins heading into the hard-court swing, he has turned it around on his best surface. He reached the quarterfinals at the Citi Open before rolling through his first four matches without dropping a set: 6-3, 7-5 over Jenson Brooksby, 6-3, 6-2 over Zizou Bergs, 6-3, 7-6 over Joao Fonesca, and 6-3, 6-1 win over Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals. That win also snapped a two-match losing streak agains the Czech.

Pegula couldn’t match his form. She fell to Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 16 in Toronto, and Amanda Anisimova went out in the same round to Elina Svitolina. Gauff ended up the lone American left standing there, reaching the semifinals only after Belinda Bencic withdrew from their scheduled quarterfinal.

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Montreal told a different story entirely. Alongside Shelton, both Learner Tien and Brandon Nakashima also made the semifinals, giving the tournament that rare three-American final four. Shelton is the favorite to defend his title, both as the highest remaining seed and on the strength of a 10-match winning streak at this event, but his path back to the final isn’t simple. He faces Tien next, and the head-to-head isn’t in his favor.

Ben Shelton describes himself as a “big-match player” ahead of Learner Tien clash

“Yeah. First of all, I think that I’m definitely a big-match player,” Shelton said. “I love playing big matches, big stadiums, big crowds. I like playing against the best guys in the world. To be honest, I like going into a match as an underdog. Something I enjoy.”

Tien leads their series 2-0, most recently beating Shelton 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 at Indian Wells earlier this year. Shelton knows the target on his back comes with being the tournament’s top seed left, and says he’s learning to embrace it rather than fight it.

“I think that I’m learning better and better how to deal with these early rounds or, you know, dealing with a match coming in as not a favorite, but more or less a top guy with a target on your back, I think, is something that every player has to learn to deal with,” he said.

Shelton and Tien meet Wednesday for a spot in the final, with Nakashima facing Rafael Jodar in the tournament’s other semifinal the same night.