Ben Shelton beats Nakashima and repeats the title at the Montreal Masters 1000

The American Ben Shelton won his second consecutive title on Thursday Montreal Masters 1000after defeating his compatriot Brandon Nakashima by 6-3 and 7-6 (7/4) in the final.

Shelton, 23, won the seventh ATP title of his career and the fourth of the year, after his victories in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart. Will rise from tenth to sixth place in the ATP ranking.

Shelton joins Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who have won the Canadian tournament two years in a row this century.

This was the first Masters final between two Americans since Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish in Cincinnati 23 years ago.

“Playing like I did here, winning without losing a set… reflects the hard work I’ve put in and my mental strength,” Shelton said.

“I managed to stay focused this week, and even so my season has not been easy,” added the player, who had only won one of the five Masters 1000 he played this season before the start of the Montreal tournament.

“I’m playing at my best level… I have no words,” he said.

Before this first all-american final in Canada since 1995, when Andre Agassi faced Pete Sampras, Nakashima had been defeated by Shelton in their previous five meetings.

Shelton needed just one break, in the seventh game, to take the first set, and then chained five consecutive games — giving up only five points — to take a set lead and 1-0.

He took a 6-5 lead thanks to two aces, and then closed out the match in the tie-break with a forehand winner into the corner, out of Nakashima’s reach.

This 87-minute victory gave Shelton his fourth title of the season, all won on different surfaces. He also triumphed on indoor hard courts in Dallas, on clay in Munich and on grass in Stuttgart. Shelton now heads to the Cincinnati Masters, in the American Midwest, after a streak of 12 consecutive victories in Canada.

He will use this last important tournament before the start of the US Open on August 30 to try to maintain his good form for the last Grand Slam of the season.