Big Ben! American Shelton tops Russia's Khachanov to win NBO Toronto title
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It was the American's first ATP Tour title of the season and third of his career.
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The 22-year-old Shelton will move up one position to a career-best sixth spot when the new world rankings are released Monday.
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Khachanov, 29, was denied an eighth career title and remained stuck at 199 career hardcourt wins.
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With many spectators checking their devices for updates on Canada's Victoria Mboko at the women's final in Montreal, the men delivered a quality match at a packed Sobeys Stadium.
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Shelton, who defeated Khachanov in their only previous meeting at Indian Wells last March, set the early tone by holding at love in the opening game. He punctuated the finish with a couple of aces.
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His creativity has been key throughout his run to the final but he got burned at 3-3 when his soft slice from the baseline found the net on break point. The American got back on serve at 5-5 when his forehand clipped the net cord and handcuffed Khachanov.
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After a hold, Khachanov saved three set points before taking the tiebreaker with a volley after repeatedly working the American from corner to corner.
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For a second straight night, a glitch with the electronic line-calling system forced a short delay.
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At 2-2 in the second set, the audio could not be heard on fault calls. The issue was resolved quickly and Khachanov would hold despite the technical hiccup.
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Shelton picked up the first break of the set for a 5-4 lead and saved four break points before taking the set.
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A trainer massaged Shelton's right upper thigh before the start of the decider. The American seemed slightly slower but his pace was still strong.
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He outpowered the Russian in the tiebreaker, seemingly firing aces and service winners at will before closing out the win in two hours 47 minutes.
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The US$9.19-million tournament was expanded to a 96-player format this season.
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Total attendance over one qualification day and 12 main-draw days was 217,531 despite several high-profile withdrawals. The pullouts included top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, No. 5 Jack Draper of Britain and No. 6 Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
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The previous best of 175,003 was set in 2023 when the main draw was a weeklong event.
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Shelton became the first American winner at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament since Andy Roddick in 2003. He earned about $1.12 million with the victory while Khachanov pocketed almost $598,000.
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