Alcaraz defeats Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 to win Paris Masters

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 to win the Paris Masters on Sunday, claiming the title in straight sets. The world No 3 secured his ninth ATP 1000 crown.

Alcaraz avenged the quarter-final loss he suffered to Shelton at the US Open in September, a four-and-a-half-hour match that ended his title defence. He controlled much of the Paris final from the baseline and became the first Spaniard to lift the Paris Masters trophy since David Ferrer in 2012. The Australian Open champion has now won three titles since the setback at Flushing Meadows.

The opening set remained level until a tie-break, where Shelton overshot the baseline three times on his forehand, allowing Alcaraz to take the set 7-6 (5).

Shelton, the world No 4, moved 3-2 up in the second after capitalising on two double faults and wayward topspins from Alcaraz, then extended his lead with two aces in the next game. Alcaraz responded by breaking back to make it 4-4, landing two cross-court winners as Shelton first netted a forehand and then went long.

With Alcaraz leading 6-5, Shelton faltered while serving to stay in the match, overshooting two forehands before the seven-times grand slam winner clinched victory with a perfectly timed backhand down the line. “Today, it was one of the toughest challenges we have in tennis right now, facing Ben Shelton,” said Alcaraz, whose US Open title defence was derailed by the eventual finalist Shelton in a four-and-a-half-hour thriller in September. “He is doing better and better with every tournament so it’s going to be even tougher facing him. So I’m just really happy that I found the way.”

“It’s something I’ve been chasing for a long time,” Alcaraz said after finally winning the Paris Masters on his sixth attempt, and he will head next to the ATP Finals starting next Sunday, followed by the Davis Cup finals later this month.