Paris (France) (AFP) - American Ben Shelton, ranked fourth in the world, reached the semi-finals of the 1000-point Paris Masters with a difficult victory over his compatriot Tommy Paul 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Friday in a marathon confrontation that lasted 105 minutes in the quarter-finals.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 16:37 Last updated: 06/11/2026 - 17:05

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 1,000-point Masters title in his career, but also the evaporation of his hopes of qualifying for the final ATP Masters tournament in Turin.

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.”

Returning to facing the Americans in the quarter-finals of the current edition, Paul was the first to be shaken when he was 4-5 behind on his serve, as two double faults gave Shelton two chances to decide the set, and he took advantage of the second of them with a successful forehand strike and finished it in his favor in 35 minutes.

But Paul responded directly, breaking Shelton's serve in the first half of the second set after scoring only 15 points, and the 29-year-old player maintained his lead until he finished it in his favor 6-4 in 37 minutes, forcing a deciding set.

The advantage returned to Shelton in the third set when he broke Paul's serve in the fourth game with an oblique forehand that barely touched the outer line.

Shelton then maintained his advantage and won it 6-3 in 33 minutes and reached the next round, where he will face either Frenchman Luca Van Assche or Australian qualifier Rinki Hijikata.

Later, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaras, the holder of seven major titles (Grand Slam), will also play with the other American Taylor Fritz, and the Norwegian Casper Ruud, formerly second in the world, with the Portuguese Nuno Borges, who qualifies for the main table as the “lucky loser.”

© 2026 AFP

The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.