Paris (France) (AFP) - Spanish Carlos Alcarras, ranked third in the world, succeeded in redeeming himself against American Ben Shelton, fourth, after defeating him 7-6 (7-5) and 7-5, to win the title of the Paris Masters 1000 Tennis Tournament for the first time in his career on Sunday.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 17:53

By defeating the player who knocked him out of the US Open, thus ending his title defense campaign last September, the 23-year-old won his ninth title in the 1000-point Masters tournament.

Unlike the marathon confrontation that brought them together in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows two months ago, which extended to five sets, the final confrontation in Paris lasted less than two hours.

Before the start of the final WTA tournament scheduled between November 15 and 22 in the Italian city of Turin, Alcarras raised his tally to five titles this year, surpassed only by Italian Jannik Sinner, who is currently injured, and who has won six titles.

The Spanish star will look forward to winning the Finals Championship title for the first time in his career in Italy.

After winning two titles at Roland Garros, and now winning the Paris title, Alcarras continues his perfect record in the final matches he played in the French capital, without tasting defeat.

The Spaniard's path to the title was not strewn with roses, as he succeeded, for the second time in the French capital, in saving crucial points that were enough to eliminate him from the tournament, after he escaped being eliminated by the other American, Taylor Fritz, in the quarter-finals, in a scene that brought to mind his historic victory in the Roland Garros final last year over Sinner.

On the other hand, Shelton suffered his first defeat in the final of one of the thousand-point Masters tournament, after he had succeeded in winning his previous two finals in this category of tournaments, both in the last two editions of the Canadian Open tournament.

- 'Ten out of ten' -

When Alcarras was serving and the score indicated that he was 1-2 down in the first set, the Spaniard found himself facing a difficult test, after giving his opponent four chances to break his serve. But he showed great toughness and succeeded in holding his serve, taking advantage of a mistake committed by Shelton at the end of a seven-minute period.

In the seventh game, Shelton, in turn, faced the risk of losing his serve, after being two break points behind, but he responded strongly with a perfect flying drop shot, followed by a powerful hit, to return the score to a tie, before he held his serve and continued his advance.

Despite the mutual threats at the serve level, and the amazing artistic shots that ignited the enthusiasm of the fans, neither player was able to settle the first set, so both sides resorted to a tiebreaker.

When the tie was 4-4, Shelton made a mistake that gave the Spaniard the opportunity to advance, before the latter launched a crushing backhand while in the air, obtaining two points to decide the set.

But the first point was lost after Alcarras' kick hit the top of the net hard, while the ball rose and fell slowly before landing in the Spaniard's side.

However, Alcarras did not allow the opportunity to be wasted again, as Shelton exaggerated the power of his forehand during the next point, causing the ball to bounce off the court, giving the Spaniard the advantage in the first set.

In the second set, specifically at a 2-2 tie, Shelton let out a cry of anger after failing to return one of the ground balls, and the score indicated 30-15 in favor of Alcaras while serving. But the American quickly regained his smile at the end of the half, after the Spaniard committed two consecutive errors, the first with a double fault on serve, and the second with an unsuccessful forehand, so Shelton achieved the first break of serve in the match.

Alkaras had confirmed, after qualifying for the final, that facing Shelton's strong serve requires that his reaction speed be at its highest level, saying that it must reach "ten out of ten."

The Spaniard proved that he was up to the challenge, after he succeeded in regaining his balance and achieving a 4-4 draw.

This came after a wonderful technical exchange of falling blows, which Alcarras ended with a successful strike along the side line.

The American succeeded in passing the first test, maintaining his serve, but when he was required to serve again to force a tie-break, he collapsed under the pressure of Alcarras.

© 2026 AFP

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