Ben Shelton rallies to beat Karen Khachanov in Toronto final

TORONTO (AP) — Ben Shelton won the National Bank Open on Thursday night for the third and biggest title of his young career, rallying to beat 11th -seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3).

The 22-year-old Shelton, seeded fourth, became the first American winner in the Masters 1000 hard-court event since Andy Roddick in 2003. Shelton also won on hard courts in Tokyo in 2023 and on clay in Houston last year.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Shelton said. “It’s been a long week, not an easy path to the final. My best tennis came out when it mattered most. I was clutch, I persevered, I was resilient. All the qualities I like to see in myself.”

Shelton will move up a spot to a career-high sixth in the world. He beat Khachanov a night after topping second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American semifinal match.

“I feel like it was a perfect storm for me this week,” Shelton said. “A lot of tight matches and long matches. I played some of the best tennis that I’ve played this year.”

The winner had seven of his 16 aces in the third set, and ended the match by winning 14 consecutive points on serve. He held at love to force the final-set tiebreaker.

“He went for his shots, trusted the work that he’s put in and he executed,” said Bryan Shelton, his father and coach. “Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t. But it’s always nice when you can leave a tournament and hold a trophy up in your hands because it’s rare.”

The 29-year-old Khachanov has seven career victories — all on hard courts. In the semifinals, he survived a match point in another third-set tiebreaker against top-seeded Alexander Zverev.

“It’s a positive, a great tournament, a great run,” Khachanov said. “I had some great battles and great wins against top guys.”

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the 2023 winner in Toronto — and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipped the expanded event as they prepare the U.S. Open.

Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool won the all-English doubles final, saving four match points in a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 13-11 victory over Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski. The second-seeded Wimbledon champions have won 19 straight matches.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Ben Shelton, center, of the United States, celebrates after his win over Karen Khachanov, of Russia, with his father Bryan Shelton, right, after the final match at the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, of the United States, celebrates after his win over Karen Khachanov, of Russia, in the final match at the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Karen Khachanov, of Russia, celebrates after winning the first set against Ben Shelton, of the United States, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Karen Khachanov, of Russia, returns to Ben Shelton, of the United States, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, of the United States, hits a return to Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, of the United States, celebrates after winning the second set against Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton of the USA reacts during the men's final tennis action against Karen Khachanov of Russia at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Thursday, August 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, of the United States, lifts the trophy as he celebrates after his win over Karen Khachanov, of Russia, in the final match at the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, center right, of the United States, celebrates after his win over Karen Khachanov, of Russia, with his father Bryan Shelton, center left, after the final match at the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, center, of the United States, celebrates after his win over Karen Khachanov, of Russia, with his father Bryan Shelton, right, after the final match at the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, of the United States, celebrates after his win over Karen Khachanov, of Russia, in the final match at the National Bank Open men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Karen Khachanov, of Russia, celebrates after winning the first set against Ben Shelton, of the United States, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Karen Khachanov, of Russia, returns to Ben Shelton, of the United States, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, of the United States, hits a return to Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton, of the United States, celebrates after winning the second set against Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the men's final at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ben Shelton of the USA reacts during the men's final tennis action against Karen Khachanov of Russia at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Thursday, August 7, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to meet Thursday at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by then-President Nicolás Maduro before the United States captured him in an audacious military raid this month.

Less than two weeks after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges, Trump will host the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Machado, having already dismissed her credibility to run Venezuela and raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in the country.

“She’s a very nice woman,” Trump told Reuters in an interview about Machado. “I’ve seen her on television. I think we’re just going to talk basics.”

The meeting comes as Trump and his top advisers have signaled their willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and along with others in the deposed leader's inner circle remain in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.

Rodríguez herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move reportedly made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.

Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump told reporters. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

In endorsing Rodríguez, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key advisers like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a political gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government. She also intends to have a meeting in the Senate on Thursday afternoon.

Despite her alliance with Republicans, Trump was quick to snub her following Maduro’s capture. Just hours afterward, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump coveted. She has since thanked Trump and offered to share the prize with him, a move that has been rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)