Two top-15 ranked players battle it out in the final of the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The pregame narrative: Ben Shelton is shaping into one of the world’s best players at only 22 years old. In Toronto, he looks for his first ATP title of the season against a red-hot Karen Khachanov.
Check out my Khachanov vs. Shelton prediction for the men’s National Bank Open final on Thursday, Aug. 7.
Khachanov vs. Shelton prediction
Best bet: Shelton -1.5 sets (+148)
Both players are playing extremely well heading into the final, but I have to side with the recent results from Shelton.
- The American has consecutive straight-set wins over Taylor Fritz (6-4, 6-3) and Alex de Minaur (6-3, 6-4) in matches that weren’t particularly close.
- Fritz hadn’t lost in straight sets in 24 straight contests and de Minaur won eight straight matches before playing Shelton.
Khachanov is rolling, too, beating No. 3-ranked Alexander Zverev in the semifinal.
However, Zverev wasn’t on the same form as either Fritz or de Minaur, and Khachanov needed all three sets to get the job done.
That includes a match-deciding tiebreaker in the third set.
Full Khachanov vs. Shelton betting markets
Not only is Shelton beating better competition, but he’s doing it convincingly.
The American also holds a notable edge with his serve. At the National Bank Open, Shelton has served 65 aces while committing just 17 double faults.
For context, Khachanov has recorded 31 aces and 21 double faults.
That means Shelton is averaging 1.1 aces per game with a whopping 92% hold rate.
I can’t see Khachanov having much success breaking his opponent, while his serve hasn’t been dominant enough to convince me he can have the same success in his service games.
Key stat: When these two met at the 2025 Indian Wells Open, Shelton won the match in straight sets (6-3, 7-5). He won 41% of his return points.
Khachanov vs. Shelton prediction made at 11:33 a.m. ET on 08/07/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.