Carlos Alcaraz exacted a measure of revenge on Ben Shelton on Sunday, defeating the American 7-6(7/5), 7-5 to win the Paris Masters for the first time and claim the ninth Masters 1000 title of his career.
Shelton had ended Alcaraz’s US Open title defence earlier this season in a five-set quarter-final epic in New York. The rematch in Paris was a far more brisk affair, lasting just under two hours.
A Step Forward Mentally
“For me it’s really special that finally I just got to play great tennis,” Alcaraz told reporters. “I went far in the tournament, lifting the trophy at the end.”
The Spaniard pointed to his mental resilience as the cornerstone of a week that included a quarter-final escape against Taylor Fritz, in which he saved two match points.
“I would say this week I took a step forward mentally. I had a lot of really tough moments. I’m just really happy that I controlled my emotions, controlled my thoughts every moment, every single match,” he said.
Arriving in Paris on the back of a 500-level title in Vienna, Alcaraz has now won his last nine matches. The run marks a strong return from a wrist injury that forced him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.
“Probably these two last weeks have been the best I’ve played since my comeback,” he added.
Momentum Heading to Turin
Ahead of the ATP Finals, which run November 15-22 in Turin, the world number three now holds five tour-level titles this year. Only the injured Jannik Sinner has more, with six. Alcaraz will next pursue a first career title at the season-ending Finals.
For world number four Shelton, the defeat was his first in a Masters final, having won his two previous appearances at that level, both at the Canadian Open.
Small Margins Decide an Entertaining Final
An entertaining opening set drew admiring gasps from the crowd and went the distance despite both players finding success on the other’s serve. In the tie-break, a Shelton error at 4-4 followed by a leaping backhand smash from Alcaraz brought up two set points.
The first slipped away when Alcaraz’s shot clipped the top of the net cord and dropped agonisingly on his own side. He was not denied a second time, as Shelton overcooked a forehand to concede the opener.
At 2-2 in the second set, Shelton let out a bellow of frustration after missing a groundstroke, but salvaged the game as a double fault and a missed forehand handed him the first break of the match.
Alcaraz had said his reflexes would need to be “ten out of ten” against Shelton’s serve, and they were precisely that three games later as he levelled the set at four-all. A deft exchange of angled drop shots, ended by an Alcaraz winner down the line, brought the Spaniard’s finger to his ear and the crowd to its feet.
Shelton held to keep the final alive, but when called upon to serve again to force a deciding set, he cracked. Alcaraz pounced, sealing the title with a flicked backhand winner.
“It’s all about the little details. The difference in our match, in the US Open, was the little details, and same here,” the 24-year-old Shelton said. “I’ve learned so much, and it’s the position that I want to be in.
“Playing in the US Open final against [Alexander] Zverev, playing the finals here against Carlos, now going to Turin and get to line up against the eight best players in the world.”
Unbeaten Record in the French Capital
With two French Opens and now the Paris Masters to his name, the former world number one remains undefeated in title matches in the city, excluding the Olympic Games, which do not carry ranking points.
In the earlier doubles final, French wildcards Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert upset second seeds Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison 7-6(7/3), 6-7(4/7), 10-8.
