The key facts
- Alcaraz defeated Shelton 7:6 (7:5), 7:5 and won the Paris Masters for the first time
- This is the Spaniard's ninth ATP 1000 title — he overtook Thomas Muster and moved into eighth place in history
- The victory was revenge for the US Open quarterfinal loss on September 9
First victory in Paris and revenge for New York
Carlos Alcaraz has won the Masters series tournament in Paris for the first time: in the final he defeated American Ben Shelton 7:6 (7:5), 7:5. For the 23-year-old Spaniard, this is his ninth title at ATP 1000 events and the 29th of his professional career, reports Life.ru.
How the match went
The first set passed without breaks: Alcaraz saved six break points and took the set on a tiebreak. In the second set Shelton led 4:2, but the Spaniard fought back, and at 6:5 he broke his opponent's serve, finishing the match with a down-the-line backhand.
Place in history and the 2026 season
The victory moved Alcaraz into eighth place in the all-time rankings of Masters category tournaments — he overtook Austrian Thomas Muster, who has eight such titles. Earlier, the Spaniard won twice in Indian Wells and Madrid, and also triumphed in Miami, Cincinnati, Monte Carlo and Rome; of the current Masters events, only the tournaments in Canada and Shanghai have eluded him.
Season context and the rivalry with Shelton
In 2026, Alcaraz has collected five titles, including the Australian Open victory, after which he became the youngest holder of a career Grand Slam in men's singles. He also won in Doha, Tokyo and Vienna, and from April he was recovering from a wrist injury, returning to the court only at the end of August. Only Jannik Sinner, with six trophies, has more titles this season.
Revenge for the US Open
The victory in Paris was Alcaraz's answer to a recent defeat: on September 9, Shelton knocked him out of the US Open quarterfinals in a five-set match that ended at 3:33 a.m. and became the latest-finishing match in the tournament's history. That encounter ended the Spaniard's streak of 18 consecutive Grand Slam victories. Shelton then reached the US Open final, where on September 13 he lost to Alexander Zverev 6:3, 7:6 (7:2), 5:7, 6:2 — the German claimed the second Grand Slam title of his career.
