Aug 6, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Ben Shelton (USA) hits a ball to Taylor Fritz (not pictured) during semifinals at Sobeys Stadium.

tennis

Ben Shelton vs. Karen Khachanov Head-to-Head, Prediction and Betting Odds for ATP National Bank Open 2025 Final

Aug 6, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Ben Shelton (USA) hits a ball to Taylor Fritz (not pictured) during semifinals at Sobeys Stadium.

No. 4 seed Ben Shelton will bid for his maiden title of the 2025 season as a Top-10 player, as he takes on another man who is hunting for his first success this year – Karen Khachanov. The American and Russian will go to war in the final of the 2025 National Bank Open on Thursday. It will be just the second career meeting between the two stars, who defeated the top two seeds en route to the summit clash. Keep reading to find out more about their rivalry, as well as the best odds via BetMGM.

On Wednesday night, Ben Shelton produced a ruthless display of ball striking to fend off No. 2 seed Taylor Fritz. While the 22-year-old always serves impeccably well, it was his accuracy in baseline exchanges that has been the most impressive aspect this week. Shelton endured major hiccups against Nakashima and Cobolli, before defeating de Minaur and Fritz in straightforward fashion. He has a 31-16 record in 2025, with no titles to show for it thus far.

Ben Shelton signs the camera after reaching his first Masters 1000 final in Toronto:

“Even more uncharted territory. Humble and hungry” 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/FQjWxa6JOA
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 7, 2025

Karen Kanchanov will contest his first final of the campaign in Toronto. Prior to this, the Russian reached the semifinal stage in Barcelona and Halle. After relatively smooth sailing in his opening rounds, the 29-year-old has beaten three seeds in a row to enter the trophy-determinant. A silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Khachanov won 73% first serves against Zverev in the semis. Currently ranked No. 16 in the world, he will be targeting a year-end Top-10 finish.

RESILIENCE 👏@karenkhachanov saves a match point to come through an epic against Zverev and makes the final in Toronto!#NBO25 pic.twitter.com/hMmjueb8gE
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 7, 2025

Ben Shelton vs Karen Khachanov Head to Head Record

Shelton leads the head-to-head against Khachanov by 1-0. Their only previous meeting was also in 2025.

The two powerhouses met in the Round of 32 of Indian Wells earlier this year. Backed by his home fans, Shelton managed to ease into the pre-quarterfinals with a straight sets win. The southpaw was beaten by eventual champion Jack Draper in the QFs. As a result, this match-up will be the second encounter between the two starlets at the Masters-1000 level.

Event	Round	Winner	Score
2025 Indian Wells	Round of 32	Ben Shelton	6-3 7-5

Ben Shelton vs Karen Khachanov Career Comparison

Ben Shelton	Category	Karen Khachanov
0	Grand Slams	0
2	ATP Singles Titles	7
0	ATP Doubles Titles	1
0	Masters-1000 Titles	1
–	Olympics Best Performance	Silver (Tokyo 2020)
No. 7	Current World Ranking	No. 16

Ben Shelton vs Karen Khachanov ATP National Bank Open 2025 Prediction

It was the Khachanov forehand that was lethal against Zverev on Wednesday. He also managed to stay with the German in longer rallies, which was the chink in his armor during previous meetings. Shelton has been hitting a heavy ball in Toronto this week, and has self-admittedly worked on extending the rallies. Fans can expect plenty of serve plus one duels, and the player with a superior defensive game will get the crucial breaks.

Prediction: Ben Shelton in three sets.

Chasing glory in Toronto 🏆@karenkhachanov @BenShelton #NBO25 pic.twitter.com/QWg87srVLl
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 7, 2025

Ben Shelton vs Karen Khachanov ATP National Bank Open 2025 Betting Odds

Shelton is currently edging out Khachanov as the betting favourite for the Canadian Masters final on Thursday. According to the pre-match implied probability on the money line, the American comes in with a 63% shot at lifting the trophy. Here are all the match-specific odds (as per BetMGM):

Ben Shelton Win: 3/5
Karen Khachanov Win: 27/20

Total Games >24.5: 41/50
Total Games By Khachanov <12.5: Evens
Total Games By Shelton >13.5: 11/10
Total Sets >2.5: 6/5
Khachanov +1.5 (Game Handicap): Evens
Total Number of Tiebreaks >0.5: 11/20

(According to BetMGM: BetMGM offers exclusive promo codes, bonus deals and accurate odds for users upon signing up. Use BetMGM to ace your betting game in all sports!)

(Image Credits: John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images)

ATP

Ben Shelton

Betting

Karen Khachanov

National Bank Open

Tennis

US Open

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.