Carlos Alcaraz beats Ben Shelton to win Paris Masters
Carlos Alcaraz captured his maiden Paris Masters crown on Sunday, edging Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 to claim the ninth ATP 1000 title of his career. In doing so on his sixth attempt at the tournament, the world No. 3 became the first Spaniard to lift the trophy in Paris since David Ferrer in 2012. The hard-fought victory also provided redemption for the Australian Open champion, who avenged a four-and-a-half-hour US Open quarterfinal defeat to Shelton from September.
Controlling the contest from the baseline, Alcaraz navigated an opening set that remained deadlocked until the tie-break, where Shelton overshot the baseline three times on his forehand. Shelton, the world No. 4 and US Open finalist, fought back in the second set, capitalizing on two double faults to establish a 4-2 lead behind consecutive aces. However, Alcaraz recovered with cross-court winners to level at 4-4, before applying pressure at 6-5. As Shelton served to stay in the match, the American faltered with two more long forehands, allowing the seven-times grand slam winner to seal the championship with a precise backhand down the line.
The triumph marks Alcaraz's third title since Flushing Meadows as he heads into the season's finish, with the ATP Finals starting next Sunday followed by the Davis Cup finals later this month.
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