The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 3rd player in the world, won his first title at the Masters 1000 in Paris on Sunday by beating the American Ben Shelton in the final. With this 29th career title, he is only one victory away from equaling his great rival Jannik Sinner, who has 30 trophies.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 17:50Modified on: 08/11/2026 - 19:01

Never successful at the Masters 1000 in Paris since his debut, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (3rd in the world) won his first trophy in the tournament in the French capital after his victory on Sunday November 8 against the American Ben Shelton (4th).

"I never gave up, despite painful defeats. With my team we always said 'try again'", rejoiced after his 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 victory, the 23-year-old Spaniard, who received the trophy from the hands of German legend Boris Becker, first winner of the tournament in 1986.

Alcaraz's upset history with the end-of-year indoor tournament began in 2021 when, at 18, he was knocked out in the round of 16 by Hugo Gaston in the cauldron of Bercy, the former venue of the tournament, bubbling with pleasure for the Frenchman.

Then, he could not do better than a quarter-final in 2022. Until Sunday, where he succeeded David Ferrer, the last Spaniard to have won the title in Paris (2012).

See alsoAlcaraz coronation at the Australian Open, youngest player to achieve the Grand Slam

One title to match Sinner

Alcaraz won his fifth title of the season in Paris, the second in a row indoors after the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna at the end of October.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner also wins his ninth Masters 1000 since the start of his career, the first in this tournament category since Cincinnati in August 2025.

With this 29th trophy in his career, Alcaraz is only one title away from equaling his great rival Jannik Sinner (30), injured and out until the end of the season. He is also more than ever on time to overtake the legends Mats Wilander and Roger Federer, who won 30 titles before turning 24.

The Spaniard was left with a defeat against Ben Shelton, in a match that went down in history since it ended at 3:33 a.m. with the American's five-set victory after 4:28 hours of play in September at the US Open, Alcaraz's return tournament this year after four months without playing due to a right wrist injury.

See alsoRoland-Garros: Carlos Alcaraz, reigning champion, will not participate due to injury

Sunday, the match started off with a bang, with a lot of intensity on both sides from the first set – six break points for the American, two for Alcaraz.

But neither managed to steal the other's throw. There were powerful serves from Shelton (6 aces in the first set), some beautiful rallies and magical shots from Alcaraz, like this returned volley after a lob attempt from the American to get back to 3-3.

Shelton breaks down at the decisive moment

As at Flushing Meadows in September, the first set was played in a tie-break. And they both took all the risks, until a too strong forehand from Shelton which gave Alcaraz the first round after 1 hour 05 minutes of play.

In the second set, Shelton was very offensive from the start, when Alcaraz had problems serving, until offering the first break of the match at 3-2 after two double faults.

But the Spaniard raised the tone thanks to two passing shots on Shelton's too-fair climbs to the net to erase his deficit and then get back to 4-4.

Then, when serving at 6-5 to push his opponent to the tie-break, the American narrowly missed and offered two match points to Alcaraz, who converted the second with a whipped backhand after opening the court.

The Spaniard therefore has his revenge, but a good player, he said to Shelton: "I know that you are going to bounce back. And I am going to be a little afraid of you at the ATP Finals", the end-of-season Masters which brings together the eight best players of the season in Turin (November 15-22).

With AFP

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