Paris (France) (AFP) - Spaniard Carlos Alcaras achieved a new miracle in the French capital, after saving two match points for his American rival Taylor Fritz and reaching the semi-finals of the 1000-point Paris Masters tournament on Friday in the quarter-finals.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 10:01

The 23-year-old Spaniard succeeded in overturning his deficit to win 6-7 (12-10), 7-5, 6-3, and reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time in his professional career.

In scenes that brought to mind his historic return in the final of the French Open, the second of the four major tournaments, at Roland Garros last year against Italian Jannik Sinner, when he saved three points that were enough to give his rival the title, Alcarras surprised the Parisian fans again by snatching a victory that seemed impossible from the jaws of defeat.

“This match will probably be one of the most special matches of my career, and I will remember it for a long time,” Alkaras told reporters.

This harsh loss to world number 12 Fritz also ended his hopes of qualifying for the final Masters Tournament (ATP) in Turin.

On the other hand, young Alcaras citizen Rafael Khawadar (20 years old) will participate in his first participation in the final tournament, crowning an exceptional first season after turning professional only last December.

Although he played only one match on his way to the quarter-finals, Alcarras showed no signs of being away from the competition, as he took advantage of the first opportunity to break his opponent's serve in the fifth game of the first set, with a successful forehand pass that passed Fritsche.

The Spaniard found himself under great pressure to hold his serve when he led 4-3, but he saved three break points, keeping the advantage in his favor. However, he did not have the same luck after two games, when Fritz took advantage of the decline in the level of his opponent’s serve and broke it without losing any point, equalizing the score at 5-5 and then 6-6. In an exciting tiebreak, the two players wasted more than one opportunity to settle the set, before Alkaras sent a forehand wide, giving the first set to the American.

After he came back from 0-40 down and held his serve at the beginning of the second set, Alcarras pointed to his ear and raised his fist in an attempt to motivate the Parisian fans, in a shot that brought to mind his five-game epic at Roland Garros.

Despite this, he continued to struggle to find effective solutions in front of Fritz's serve, who is 196 centimeters tall. Indeed, the world's twelfth-ranked was the first to break serve in the second set, in the seventh game, so he came closer to victory.

But Alkaras saved the first match point, then held serve thanks to a stunning cross-cut backhand shot from almost outside the court.

In the next game, he saved a second match point with a successful kick while running, before he ignited the crowd's enthusiasm again by breaking Fritz's serve suddenly, and then completed his amazing comeback by breaking his opponent's serve again, forcing a third set decider.

The Murcia native appeared at the peak of his brilliance, seizing the advantage in the decisive set, leading 3-1, after forcing Fritz to send a volley out of the court. Although he was forced to defend new opportunities to break his serve in a match that was not devoid of fluctuations, towards the end he obtained two match points on his serve, and he settled the first with a powerful forehand that Fritz was only able to touch the frame of his racket when blocking it.

Alkaras will play in the next round with Norwegian Casper Ruud, formerly second in the world, who won over Portuguese Nuno Borges, who qualified for the main table as the “lucky loser” with a score of 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

Shelton is also in the semi-finals

American Ben Shelton, ranked fourth in the world, qualified with a difficult victory over his compatriot Tommy Paul 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a marathon confrontation that lasted 105 minutes.

One break of serve in each set was enough to separate the players, and the victory was won by 24-year-old Shelton, who became the first American to reach the semi-finals in the Parisian tournament since John Isner and later champion Jack Sock in 2017.

As for Paul, 14th in the world, the defeat not only meant the end of his quest to win the first thousand-point Masters title in his career, but also the evaporation of his hopes of qualifying for the final Masters tournament.

Their compatriot Frances Tiafoe, who was eliminated in the second round on Wednesday, became a guarantor of his participation in the final tournament scheduled between November 15 and 22.

“Francis has had an exceptional year,” Shilton said of the 28-year-old Tiafoe, who will be competing in the tournament for the first time. “He is one of my best friends, and to see him qualify for Turin for the first time is fantastic.”

Shelton will play in the next round with Frenchman Luca Van Assche, ranked 47th in the world, who ended the adventure of Australian Rinki Hijikata, the qualifier, by defeating him 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 7-5.

This is the first time that the 22-year-old Van Assche has reached the semi-finals of one of the 1000-point Masters tournament in his professional career, noting that he played in the quarter-finals for the first time as well.

Last July, Van Assche won his first title when he won the Portuguese Estoril tournament (250 points) on clay courts.

Van Assche was forced to exhaust all his energies to eliminate Hijikata, ranked 83 in the world, who knocked out Serbian star Novak Djokovic in the second round and ended his hopes of qualifying for the final Masters tournament.

© 2026 AFP

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