Carlos Alcaraz saved two match points to beat Taylor Fritz 6–7 (10–12), 7–5, 6–3. Ben Shelton beat Tommy Paul 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, Luca Van Assche defeated Rinky Hijikata 6–4, 6–7 (4), 7–5, and Casper Ruud beat lucky loser Nuno Borges 7–6 (5), 6–4 to complete the semifinal lineup.
Carlos Alcaraz saved two match points to beat Taylor Fritz in the Paris Masters quarterfinals on 6 November. Fritz won the first-set tiebreak 12–10, but his defeat ended his chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals and gave Rafael Jodar the final singles place.
Fritz had led by a break in the second set before Alcaraz saved the match points and broke his serve twice to level the match. Alcaraz then reached his first Paris semifinal.
Shelton reached his first Paris semifinal in an all-American match against Paul. The third seed served 19 aces and converted two of four break points; it was his third victory in five meetings with Paul.
Shelton and Paul had both defeated French players on Thursday to reach their quarterfinal meeting.
Shelton will face Van Assche, the Belgian-born French player, whose win over Australian qualifier Hijikata took almost three hours. Van Assche won the 2021 French Open boys’ singles title, beating Arthur Fils in the final.
Ruud’s victory over Borges reversed their result from the previous week in Basel. Ruud will face Alcaraz in the other semifinal on 7 November.
Paul’s loss ended his own qualification bid and secured a first ATP Finals appearance for fellow American Frances Tiafoe, 28. Jodar will also make his debut at the season-ending tournament in Turin, which runs from 15–22 November and features the top eight men’s singles players.
Shelton had described Tiafoe as one of his best friends, praised his outstanding year and said he was happy for him. He said it was amazing to see Tiafoe make Turin for the first time and welcomed the number of Americans competing for places there.
Alcaraz won his 5th title of 2026 and his 2nd consecutive tournament after taking the Vienna title the previous week.
The other qualifiers are Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Fils. Tiafoe’s season included the Halle title, finals in Cincinnati and Acapulco, and a third US Open semifinal appearance.
The semifinals are scheduled for 7 November at 14:30 and not before 17:00 Paris time (17:30 and not before 20:00 Yerevan time). The Paris Masters final is scheduled for 8 November at 15:00 Paris time (18:00 Yerevan time).
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Ben Shelton reached the quarterfinals with victory over Arthur Rinderknech. Taylor Fritz beat Arthur Fils 6–3, 6–4 and Luca Van Assche defeated Lorenzo Musetti 7–5, 3–6, 6–4; Tommy Paul and Rinky Hijikata also won, while Carlos Alcaraz advanced after Matteo Berrettini withdrew.
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Arthur Fils beat Tomas Machac 6–3, 7–6 to reach the last 16, and Frances Tiafoe’s defeat secured Fils a place at the ATP Finals. Rinky Hijikata beat Novak Djokovic 2–6, 6–3, 6–3, ending his qualification hopes. Quentin Halys beat Frances Tiafoe 6–3, 1–6, 7–6 (9), and Ignacio Buse beat Daniil Medvedev 6–4, 6–4.
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