Alcaraz avenges US Open loss to Shelton for first Paris Masters title

Revenge served indoors

Carlos Alcaraz finally has the Paris Masters trophy. The second seed beat third seed Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 in Sunday's final at the Paris La Défense Arena, ending a long wait in the French capital and settling a score from New York in one hour and 57 minutes.

The final was a rematch of their US Open quarter-final two months ago. Shelton won that one 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in a match that finished at 3:33 in the morning. This time Alcaraz won in straight sets, and he now leads their head-to-head 4-1.

A tight first set, then a comeback

Shelton started the stronger player. He won 73 per cent of his first-serve points in the opening set and forced Alcaraz to save six break points, but he could never take the lead. In the tie-break Shelton was 4-3 up before Alcaraz pulled away. A net cord saved Shelton on the first set point, and Alcaraz took the second with a backhand drive volley.

The only break of the match came in the second set. Alcaraz hit two double faults and an unforced error to drop serve and fall 2-4 behind. He broke straight back and held his remaining service games. Shelton saved the first match point at 15-40, and Alcaraz closed it out with a backhand passing shot.

The numbers favoured the Spaniard throughout. He hit 33 winners to Shelton's 25, won 10 of 13 points at the net and converted two of five break points. Shelton saved most of his break points but only converted one of seven, and his 12 aces were not enough.

Milestones and the road to Turin

The title is Alcaraz's ninth at Masters 1000 level and the 29th of his career. It is his fifth trophy of 2026 after the Australian Open, Doha, Tokyo and Vienna, his first Masters 1000 title this season and his second indoor title in a row. The 23-year-old has now won at least one Masters 1000 event in five straight seasons.

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His week was not always smooth. He saved two match points against Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals, after reaching that stage when Matteo Berrettini withdrew, and he then beat Casper Ruud in straight sets in under 90 minutes to reach his first Paris final.

The title does not change the top of the rankings. Alcaraz stays at No. 3 behind Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner, and Shelton remains No. 4. For the American, who was going for a third Masters 1000 crown after Toronto in 2025 and Montreal in 2026, it was a sixth final of the season. He has also made headlines off the court: Shelton is adding Juan Carlos Ferrero, who coached Alcaraz for years, to his team for next season.

Both men now head to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, which start next Sunday. Alcaraz arrives as the most in-form player in the field. He is unbeaten since Shanghai and has just won back-to-back indoor titles. The Paris Masters was the final Masters 1000 event of the season.