Carlos Alcaraz beat Ben Shelton 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 on Sunday to win the first Paris Masters title of his career, exacting revenge for their US Open defeat just 60 days earlier.
That late-night New York blockbuster had ended Alcaraz’s comeback tournament. He had returned from four months out with a wrist injury and reached the US Open quarter-finals before going out in an astonishing five-set epic against the rising American star. In the two months since, Alcaraz has won three titles and lost only once in 17 matches.
Victory over world number four Shelton sealed the 23-year-old’s first triumph at the prestigious Paris Masters 1000 tournament. It also suggested that Alcaraz, now fully fit and having won seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events, will be ready to compete for the sport’s major prizes in 2027.
Following his win, Alcaraz said: “It’s something I’ve been chasing for a long time. I had some of the toughest losses of my career here.
“Today was one of the toughest challenges we have in tennis right now, facing Ben. Great champion, great player, great person. He is doing better and better every tournament. From here, it is going to be even tougher facing him.
“I’m just really happy that I finally got it. This tournament is really special.”
Alcaraz moves closer to career Golden Masters
Alcaraz had not previously gone beyond the quarter-finals in Paris. He will now seek to end a challenging year, which began with his win at the Australian Open that made him the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam, with a statement victory at the ATP Finals in Turin. The seven-time major winner will head into that event on a nine-match win streak, having triumphed in Vienna before his victory in Paris.
Only two days earlier, Alcaraz had stood on the brink of a quarter-final defeat to Taylor Fritz, but he saved two match points to complete a comeback victory. It was the fourth time in his career that he has won a title after being match points down at a tournament.
That indomitable spirit was again on display against Shelton. Alcaraz saved all six break points he faced in a tense opening set. Shelton, who has won four titles and reached a first major final this year, was equally fearless. Both players showed admirable poise under pressure, with Shelton also seeing off two break points. Alcaraz held his nerve to take the first-set tie-break, winning four of the final five points from 4-3 down.
Shelton finally capitalised when Alcaraz opened the door with an error-strewn third service game in the second set. However, serving for a 5-3 lead, Alcaraz struck back. He pointed to his ear to call for more noise from the crowd after edging a breathless exchange to hold for a 5-4 advantage, and he danced to the music inside the stadium during the change of ends.
Alcaraz soon raised his arms in celebration after ending Shelton’s resistance on his second match point. He then embraced his team courtside, having closed out the title by winning five of the final six games.
It was a ninth ATP Masters 1000 crown overall for Alcaraz. Canada and Shanghai are the only titles he still needs to emulate Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner as just the third man to win all nine tournaments at that level.
Patten and Heliovaara seal year-end number one spot
Great Britain’s Henry Patten and doubles partner Harri Heliovaara have secured the year-end world number one ranking for the first time. The Wimbledon champions, who only joined forces in 2024, will finish a successful 2026 as the top-ranked men’s doubles pairing. Their run to the semi-finals in Paris also sealed their place at the ATP Finals.
Patten and Heliovaara reclaimed their Wimbledon title this summer and also triumphed in Adelaide, Doha, Dubai and Madrid.
Patten said: “It’s an incredible achievement, one that goes to the very top of my list of best achievements as a tennis player.
“When I look back on the journey me and Harri have been on together when we started in 2024, I was ranked around number 60 in the world and Harri was around 40.
“In two years we’ve worked incredibly hard and to go from where we started to where we are now, on top of the world, is beautiful.”
Heliovaara said: “One of the crazy dreams comes true again. A few years ago I would have never imagined this could be possible.”