Alcaraz reaches first Paris Masters final, will face Shelton

PARIS, Nov 7 : World number three Carlos Alcaraz edged past Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 on Saturday to reach his first Paris Masters final, where he will face Ben Shelton, who shook off a slow start to beat local favourite Luca Van Assche 5-7 6-3 6-4.

The Spaniard, who saved two match points in the quarter-final, 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.

SHELTON BEATS VAN ASSCHE

He will face world number four Shelton, who reached the third ATP 1000 final of his career after beating Van Assche.

US Open finalist Shelton netted twice from the baseline and hit a forehand wide as Van Assche, ranked 47th in the world, took the only break in the first set to go 6-5 up amid raucous support from his hometown crowd.

But the third seed, who was undone by his 17 unforced errors in the first set, found his rhythm in the second. He dragged the 22-year-old Frenchman into long rallies to force mistakes and broke to go 4-2 up, a lead that secured the set.

Shelton looked shaky early in the third set, landing wide twice as Van Assche took a 3-1 lead with a break. But the American turned the tide back in his favour, winning the next four games as Van Assche struggled with double faults and netted forehands.

The 24-year-old is the first American to reach the Paris Masters final since Jack Sock won the title in 2017. Shelton will hope to clinch his third ATP 1000 title on Sunday, having won the Canadian Open twice.