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Reuters • November 8th, 2026 9:00 am
Carlos Alcaraz is getting back to his best as he powered into the Paris Masters final | Photo: EPA
Carlos Alcaraz has roared past Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 to reach his first Paris Masters final, where he will face Ben Shelton, who shook off a slow start to beat local favourite Luca Van Assche 5-7 6-3 6-4.
Spanish great Alcaraz, who saved two match points in the quarter-final, has now reached the final at seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events on the calendar and will be a warm favourite going into Sunday's (Monday NZT) championship match at La Defense.
"I really want to take revenge against Ben," Alcaraz said, referring to their epic late-night quarter-final duel at the US Open, eventually won by the American at 3.33am.
"Last time was a pretty tough match. I'm going to try to do different things at little moments, important moments, that I probably didn't do well last time."
The last time Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton met in the US Open, the American won an epic | Photo: EPA
Alcaraz, who's lookig back to his best after the injury to his racquet-wrist, started his first Paris semi-final with a few unforced errors before getting sharper and more aggressive.
He broke on his third opportunity to lead 4-3, and closed out the first set with an ace and a hold to love.
In the second set, Ruud netted a forehand, giving Alcaraz the chance to serve for the match. The 23-year-old did not waste the opportunity, sealing victory with another ace.
The seven-times grand slam champion is the first Spaniard to reach the Paris Masters final since David Ferrer in 2013, and he aims to lift his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy of the season after losing his only final to Jannik Sinner in Monte Carlo.
World No. 4 Shelton reached the third ATP 1000 final of his career after subduing the home favourite and silencing the partisan crowd.
US Open finalist Shelton netted twice from the baseline and hit a forehand wide as Van Assche, ranked 47th in the world, took the only break in the first set to go 6-5 up amid raucous support.
But the third seed, who was undone by his 17 unforced errors in the first set, found his rhythm in the second, dragging the 22-year-old Frenchman into long rallies to force mistakes and breaking to go 4-2 up, a lead that secured the set.
Shelton looked shaky early in the third set, landing wide twice as Van Assche took a 3-1 lead with a break.
But the American turned the tide back in his favour, winning the next four games as Van Assche struggled with double faults and netted forehands.
The 24-year-old is the first American to reach the Paris Masters final since Jack Sock won the title in 2017.
