Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Casper Ruud to Reach First Paris Masters Final

Carlos Alcaraz secured his place in his first Paris Masters final with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud on Saturday, setting up a championship match against Ben Shelton.

The 23-year-old Spaniard overcame Ruud in a clinical performance, winning 86% of his first-serve points and recording 20 winners. BBC Sport reported the match lasted 86 minutes, while News cited a duration of 97 minutes. Alcaraz broke Ruud once in each set and finished both with an ace, including a 130mph serve to take the opening frame.

The win marks Alcaraz's sixth tour-level final of 2026 and extends his current winning streak to eight matches. Following the semi-final, Alcaraz noted that he had struggled at the tournament in previous years but feels fresh and ambitious this season. To reach the final, he previously had to save two match points in a quarter-final victory over Taylor Fritz.

Alcaraz will now face world number four Ben Shelton on Sunday. Shelton reached the final by coming from a set down to defeat Frenchman Luca van Assche 5-7 6-3 6-4. Alcaraz described the upcoming meeting as one of the most difficult challenges in tennis, acknowledging that Shelton is playing great recently.

The final is a rematch of their US Open quarter-final in September, where Shelton defeated Alcaraz in five sets. Since that loss in New York, BBC Sport reports that Alcaraz has lost just one of his subsequent 16 matches. Shelton eventually finished as the runner-up at the US Open after a loss to Alexander Zverev.

Background

Alcaraz, a seven-time major winner, has been working back to his best form following a four-month absence earlier this year due to a wrist injury. He arrived in Paris following a tournament victory in Vienna last week.