Alcaraz comes back from a tiebreak loss to reach Paris semi-finals
Carlos Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz 6-7 (10-12) 7-5 6-3 in the Paris Masters quarter-finals on Friday, after losing the first set on a tiebreak. BBC Sport reported the result.
The win sends the second seed into his first Paris semi-final. Before this week he had never gone beyond the quarter-finals at the tournament. Seeding is the ranking-based order that keeps the strongest players apart in the early rounds. Alcaraz will face either Casper Ruud or Nuno Borges in the last four.
The first set was decided by a tiebreak, a short final game played when a set reaches 6-6. It goes to the first player to seven points, but you must win by two. Fritz took it 12-10, and the set went his way. Alcaraz then steadied himself, winning the second set 7-5 and the third 6-3.
Fritz had 3,050 points heading into the match, and he needed a deep run to keep his hopes of reaching Turin alive. Those hopes ended with the defeat. The ATP Finals is the season-ending event for the top eight players in the rankings, and it is played in Turin.
Alcaraz also had to save two match points, which are chances to win the whole match with one point. He got through both and kept his run going.
Earlier on Friday, Ben Shelton beat Tommy Paul 6-4 4-6 6-3. That result secured a place in Turin for Frances Tiafoe, the 28-year-old American who reached a career-high ranking of 10th in the world in 2023. Tiafoe reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2022 and 2024, and he won his biggest title to date in Halle earlier this year.
Alcaraz's win also secured a place for Rafael Jodar. The 20-year-old Spaniard turned full-time professional at the start of 2026. He won his first ATP Tour title in Marrakech in April, then reached the French Open quarter-finals and climbed into the world's top 10 for the first time. He had already won three ATP Challenger titles in 2025, and Challengers are the tier just below the main tour. Jodar sat ninth in the ATP Race, the points table that decides who qualifies, with 3,234 points ahead of the quarter-final.
Tiafoe and Jodar will both make their debuts at the ATP Finals. The other qualifiers are Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton. The event runs from 15 to 22 November at Turin's Inalpi Arena.
For Jodar and Tiafoe, the news means a trip to Italy as first-timers. For Fritz, it means a shorter autumn than he hoped for. For Alcaraz, the next step is a semi-final in a city where he has never gone further than the quarter-finals.
The Paris Masters is the 40th edition of the event, and it is held at Paris La Défense Arena. It is scheduled to run from 31 October to 8 November.
