Alcaraz beats Ruud to reach Paris Masters final
World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz edged past Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 to reach his first Paris Masters final, where he will face Ben Shelton for the title after the American shook off a slow start to beat local favourite Luca Van Assche 5-7 6-3 6-4.
Spaniard Alcaraz, who saved two match points in the quarter-final against Taylor Fritz, has now reached the final at seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events on the calendar.
Alcaraz started his first Paris semi-final with few unforced errors before getting sharper and more aggressive.
He broke on his third opportunity to lead 4-3, and closed out the first set with an ace and a hold to love.
In the second set, Ruud netted a forehand, giving Alcaraz the chance to serve for the match. The 23-year-old did not waste the opportunity, sealing victory with another ace.
The seven-times grand slam champion is the first Spaniard to reach the Paris Masters final since David Ferrer in 2013, and he aims to lift his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy of the season after losing his only final to Jannik Sinner in Monte Carlo.
"I'm really happy and proud of myself," Alcaraz said after his victory.
"This tournament has always been really tough for me. I've struggled every time I come here. The farthest I have gone [before] was the quarter-finals.
"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 leads Shelton 3-1 in their head-to-head and lost their most recent meeting when Shelton outlasted him in a five-set thriller at the US Open earlier this year. But Alcaraz won their only previous clash indoors, at the 2024 Laver Cup in Berlin.
"Tomorrow is going to be a big day," Alcaraz said. "I'm really happy and excited. I can't wait and will try to prepare for the match the best that I can and give myself a chance. I really want to take revenge against Ben.
"Last time was a pretty tough match. I'm going to try to do different things at little moments, important moments, that I probably didn't do well last time. I'm pretty sure it is going to be a great match to watch, for me to play and of course to learn."
