Alcaraz and Shelton set up Paris Masters final rematch

Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton will meet in the Paris Masters final, a rematch of their US Open quarter-final in September. The final is scheduled for Sunday, and BBC Sport reports that the pair are set to play for the title in Paris.

Shelton won that US Open quarter-final in five sets, ending Alcaraz's bid to defend his title. Alcaraz now leads their head-to-head series 3-1, according to ATP Tour.

Alcaraz reached the final by beating Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 in the semi-final. He had never gone beyond the quarter-finals in Paris before this week. His route was not straightforward. In the quarter-final he saved two match points, chances to win the match on the next point, to beat Taylor Fritz 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-3. Fritz took the first set on a tiebreak, a short play-off to settle a set tied at six games each.

Shelton went through by beating Luca van Assche 5-7 6-3 6-4. He dropped the first set and then won the next two. He is the first American men's singles finalist at this event since 2017.

The tournament seeding, a ranking that keeps the strongest players apart early, put Alcaraz second and Shelton third. Shelton is the left-handed player in the final, and lefties send the ball in an angle that many right-handed opponents find awkward to read. Reuters lists Shelton as world No. 4, while Reuters lists Alcaraz as world No. 2.

For tennis fans, the final is a chance to see whether Alcaraz's comeback habit holds up against a player who has already beaten him this year. Shelton has shown he can win from a set down. Alcaraz has shown he can save match points and keep going. Both have been tested in Paris.

Neither player has a clock to beat. A best-of-three final can be settled in a couple of hours, and a single bad game can change the feel of a match. If the first set goes to a tiebreak, the first player to make a few clean points will look calm, and the other will have to find a reply quickly.