Paris Masters: Alcaraz beats Shelton in straight sets to win first Paris title

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz beat American Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Paris Masters final on Sunday, November 8, to win the Paris Masters for the first time.

Second match point seals it

The final at the indoor Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, outside Paris, lasted just under two hours. Alcaraz clinched victory on his second match point with a two-handed backhand winner down the line, threw his arms out wide in celebration and briefly appeared to cry. It was the ninth Masters 1000 title of his career and the seventh different event he has won at that level.

Second straight title after injury layoff

Alcaraz missed more than four months of the season with an injured right wrist and has been in red-hot form since returning: he won in Vienna last week and has now added Paris, his fifth title of the year and the 29th of his career. He has won all three finals he has reached since the US Open two months ago. Afterwards he said he felt proud of taking “one step forward mentally.”

Revenge for the US Open defeat

The win was also revenge on Shelton, who knocked Alcaraz out of the US Open quarter-finals two months ago in a marathon lasting nearly four and a half hours and ending at 3:33 a.m. Alcaraz has now won four of their five meetings. Shelton had won both of his previous Masters finals — both at the Canadian Open — and suffered his first defeat in a Masters final.

Next stop: the ATP Finals in Turin

The season-ending ATP Finals run from November 15 to 22 in Turin, where Alcaraz heads as the favourite to win the trophy for the first time. He said that after this week in Paris he feels in a good position to do it.