Alcaraz sets up Shelton rematch in Paris final

Published4 hours ago

Carlos Alcaraz says he is ready for "one of the most difficult challenges in tennis" after setting up a rematch against Ben Shelton in the Paris Masters final.

After escaping two match points to pull off a comeback in his quarter-final against Taylor Fritz on Friday, Alcaraz secured his first appearance in the Paris showpiece with an efficient 6-4 6-4 win over Casper Ruud.

The 23-year-old Spaniard's US Open title defence was ended by Shelton in an epic five-set quarter-final which ended at 03:34 local time in their previous meeting in September.

That tournament was seven-time major winner Alcaraz's first following a four-month absence to deal with a wrist injury - and he has been building back towards his scintillating best ever since.

"I'm ready to take on Ben Shelton in the final. It is probably one of the most difficult challenges you can face in tennis right now," said world number three Alcaraz.

"Ben is playing great tennis. Last time, it was a hell of a match. But I'm going to enjoy this moment because I was chasing the final here for a long time. It is going to be a big day for me."

Despite missing a substantial part of the season, only Shelton and Jannik Sinner have matched Alcaraz's six tour-level finals in 2026.

He has lost just one of the 16 matches he has contested since losing to Shelton in New York, and heads into their rematch on an eight-match winning streak after continuing his remarkable injury comeback by triumphing in Vienna last week.

It was a victory over Ruud, in the 2022 US Open final, which allowed Alcaraz to celebrate his maiden major and first world number one ranking.

Continuing his push to re-establish himself at the top of the men's game after long-term injury, Alcaraz proved a class above in his latest encounter with the Norwegian in the French capital on Saturday.

Alcaraz demonstrated all-court superiority as he ended the match having won 86% of points on his first serve, producing 20 winners - including 13 from the forehand - and winning 11 of 13 points at the net in a clinical display.

A single break was enough to settle both sets - he sealed each with an ace for good measure - and denying Ruud any opportunities to reply in the 86-minute win.

Alcaraz, who had never previously gone beyond the quarter-finals in Paris, has now reached the final at seven of the nine prestigious ATP Masters 1000 events.

World number four Shelton awaits after the US Open runner-up completed a three-set comeback victory over Frenchman Luca van Assche.

Shelton, full of confidence late in a 2026 season which has brought a career-best 45 wins, prevailed 5-7 6-3 6-4 to become the first American men's singles finalist at the event since 2017.

"Obviously Carlos is in amazing form. He's a young legend in our sport already and any match he is in is blockbuster," 24-year-old Shelton said.

Shelton may have won their most recent meeting, but Alcaraz won each of their first three and the American has often struggled against the world's best players.

But the US Open win over Alcaraz gave Shelton, who recently appointed Alcaraz's former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero to his team, his first career win over a top-three opponent - and undoubtedly affirmed his belief that he can establish himself at the top of the sport.

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