Carlos Alcaraz won his first Paris Masters title on Sunday by defeating American Ben Shelton 7-6 (7/5), 7/5. The 23-year-old, who is the world number three, claimed his ninth 1000-level title of his career in a match that lasted just under two hours.
The victory served as a measure of revenge for Alcaraz against Shelton, the man who ended Alcaraz's US Open title defence earlier this season. Alcaraz told reporters, "For me it's really special that finally I just got to play great tennis. I went far in the tournament, lifting the trophy at the end." He noted that he took a step forward mentally this week despite facing tough moments, adding, "I'm just really happy that I controlled my emotions, controlled my thoughts every moment, every single match," in reference to saving two match points against Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
Alcaraz, who is returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him for the French Open and Wimbledon, stated that the last two weeks have "probably" been the best he has played since his comeback. He entered the tournament following a 500-level title win in Vienna and has won his last nine matches. Alcaraz now holds five tour-level titles this year, with only the injured Jannik Sinner having more with six.
The first set was described as an entertaining exchange that went to a tie-break. At 4-4 in the tie-break, a Shelton error and a leaping backhand smash by Alcaraz created two set points. The first set point was lost when Alcaraz hit the top of the net cord, and the second was secured when Shelton overcooked a forehand. In the second set, Alcaraz levelled the score at four-all after Shelton missed a groundstroke at 15-30. Alcaraz later secured the title with a flicked backhand winner after Shelton cracked on a serve.
Shelton, who is world number four, suffered his first defeat in a Masters final after winning his previous two appearances at that level at the Canadian Open. Shelton said, "It's all about the little details. The difference in our match in the US Open was the little details, and same here." He added that he has learned much and looks forward to competing against the eight best players in the world at the ATP Finals in Turin from November 15-22.
With this win, Alcaraz remains undefeated in title matches in Paris, excluding the Olympic Games. In the doubles final held earlier, French wildcards Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated second seeds Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (4/7), 10-8.
