Only Jannik Sinner can stop him: Carlos Alcaraz wins again and heads to Turin as the clear favorite

Carlos Alcaraz gets his revenge on Ben Shelton and wins the Paris Masters 1000. The Murcia native defeated the American left-hander in the final in two sets, 7-6, 7-5, claiming his fifth title of the season and the 29th of his career.

The Spanish star, who has slowly regained his top form following a wrist injury, avenged his loss to Shelton in the US Open semifinals. He now heads to the ATP Finals in Turin as the clear favorite to win the title, given Jannik Sinner’s confirmed absence due to a knee injury.

The first set went to a tiebreak, with Alcaraz saving six break points against Shelton. In the tiebreaker, the Spaniard managed to prevail thanks to a few too many unforced errors by the American at the decisive moment of the match.

In the second set, Shelton managed to break serve in the fifth game, but Alcaraz responded with a break back in the eighth, then broke serve again in the twelfth game to win the match, once again capitalizing on his opponent’s struggles under intense pressure.

The victory in Paris comes on the heels of another prestigious win: just a few days earlier, Alcaraz had claimed his first title at the Vienna Open, a tournament that Jannik Sinner had already won twice, most recently last season. In the semifinals, the Spaniard defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6(2), ending the Russian’s seven-match winning streak, while in the final he got the better of Alex De Minaur.

From Paris, Alcaraz sent a message to his longtime rival, who has been sidelined since last July and will not return until next year due to right knee issues that emerged after his Wimbledon triumph. “The tour needs him back: the players and fans miss him. We really need a champion like Jannik,” said the Spaniard.