Carlos Alcaraz won the Paris Masters for the first time on Sunday, defeating Ben Shelton 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 to claim his ninth ATP Masters 1000 title.
The 23-year-old Spaniard gained a measure of revenge over the American, who had ended Alcaraz's US Open title defence in a five-set quarter-final two months earlier. Unlike that epic, the Paris final lasted just under two hours.
"Coming here every year, not finding my best tennis but we never gave up," Alcaraz said after receiving the trophy from former champion Boris Becker. "We had really painful losses here and we always said try again," he added.
The victory gives Alcaraz his fifth tour-level title of 2026, leaving only the injured Jannik Sinner with more (six). After winning the Vienna 500 event, Alcaraz arrives at the ATP Finals in Turin (November 15-22) on a nine-match winning streak, seeking his first season-ending championship.
Alcaraz remains undefeated in title matches in Paris, having won two French Opens and now the Paris Masters. He saved match points en route to the title, notably against Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals, echoing his dramatic Roland Garros final win over Sinner last year.
For world number four Shelton, it was a first defeat in a Masters final after winning his two previous appearances at that level, both at the Canadian Open.
The match featured high-quality shot-making. Alcaraz faced four break points at 1-2 in the first set but held serve. The set went to a tie-break where Alcaraz converted his second set point after a net-cord drama. In the second set, Shelton broke first but Alcaraz levelled at 4-4 and then broke again to seal the title with a flicked backhand winner.
