Alcaraz Beats Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to Reach First Paris Masters Final, Faces Shelton on Sunday

Carlos Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday, November 7, to reach his first Paris Masters final. The win put Alcaraz into the title match of a tournament where he had never reached the final before, and it came in straight sets with no break point faced.

Alcaraz will play Ben Shelton in the final on Sunday. Shelton beat Luca Van Assche 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal. Van Assche took the first set, and Shelton then rallied from a break down in the deciding set to close out the match and set up the final against Alcaraz.

A clean semifinal

Alcaraz did not face a break point against Ruud. He sealed the match with an ace. The result extended his record against Ruud to seven wins in eight meetings, so the semifinal followed the pattern of their earlier matches, with Alcaraz in control of the score from start to finish.

The calm finish stood in contrast to the day before. In his quarter-final against Taylor Fritz on Friday, Alcaraz saved two match points before he came through. Against Ruud there was no such danger. He won both sets by the same 6-4 score and walked off with a place in his first Paris final.

What the final means

Alcaraz is the first Spaniard to reach the Paris Masters final since David Ferrer in 2013. He has now reached the final at seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events. On Sunday he aims for his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy of the season, after losing his only final at that level this year to Jannik Sinner in Monte Carlo.

A win on Sunday would also be his fifth title of the year and the 29th of his career. He arrives in form. Alcaraz won in Vienna last Sunday, then worked through the Paris draw, survived the two match points against Fritz, and beat Ruud without facing a break point.

Revenge on his mind

Alcaraz leads Shelton 3-1 in their head to head record, but Shelton won their last meeting. That match was a late-night US Open quarter-final marathon that ended at 3:33 a.m., and Alcaraz has not forgotten it. "I really want to take revenge against Ben," he said ahead of the final. He also looked back on his own week with satisfaction. "I'm really happy and proud of myself," Alcaraz said.

The final is set for Sunday. Alcaraz plays for a first Paris Masters title and a first Masters 1000 trophy of the season. Shelton plays for the title after coming back from a set down and a break down in his semifinal against Van Assche.