Shelton and Alcaraz set for Paris Masters final rematch

Ben Shelton booked his place in the Paris Masters final on Saturday, recovering from a set down to beat French wildcard Luca Van Assche 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

The American third seed dropped the opener after a stream of unforced errors, then tightened his game to take the next two sets and reach his first Paris Masters final.

It is Shelton's sixth final of the tour-level season, a tally that Tennis365 noted matches Jannik Sinner for the most on the ATP Tour in 2026. His other finals this year have come at the US Open, the Canadian Open, the Stuttgart Open, the Munich Open and the Dallas Open, while Sinner has reached showpieces at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, the Italian Open and Wimbledon.

Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Shelton credited Van Assche's consistency before explaining his own turnaround. "I thought Luca was playing great. He was really consistent, really good on the move, and I started forcing my shots. I made a significant amount of unforced errors in the first set and I just needed to cut out those errors," he said.

Carlos Alcaraz joined him in the final with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Casper Ruud, a day after saving two match points against Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals, BBC Tennis reported.

It is the Spaniard's first appearance in the Paris Masters final; his previous best run at the tournament had been a quarter-final, Alcaraz said afterwards.

"I'm really happy and proud of myself," Alcaraz said, according to Yahoo Sports. "This tournament has always been really tough for me. I've struggled every time I come here... I've come into this part of the season much fresher, hungry, ambitious, excited about coming to the tournaments and stepping on the court, playing matches and competing. I'm just really happy that I made the final."

Alcaraz's run to the final caps an injury-interrupted year that has nonetheless brought him titles in Melbourne, Doha, Tokyo and, last weekend, Vienna. He arrives at Sunday's final on an eight-match winning streak, having lost only once in his last 16 matches.

That lone defeat came against Shelton in New York, where the American ended Alcaraz's US Open title defence in an epic five-set quarter-final that finished at 03:34 local time. That tournament marked Alcaraz's return from a four-month absence caused by a wrist injury.

Looking ahead to the rematch, Alcaraz was candid about the scale of the task. "I'm ready to take on Ben Shelton in the final. It is probably one of the most difficult challenges you can face in tennis right now," he said. "Ben is playing great tennis. Last time, it was a hell of a match. But I'm going to enjoy this moment because I was chasing the final here for a long time. It is going to be a big day for me."

The Paris Masters final on Sunday will be the last tournament for both players before the ATP Finals begin in Turin next week.