Shelton beats Paul to reach his first Paris semi-final and send Tiafoe to Turin
Third seed Ben Shelton served 11 aces and dropped his serve only once as he beat Tommy Paul 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at the Rolex Paris Masters. It is his third Masters 1000 semi-final, and he won the title on both previous occasions, in Toronto in 2025 and Montreal in 2026. Luca Van Assche or Rinky Hijikata stands between him and the final.
Ben Shelton, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
Ben Shelton hurt two of his friends on Tour in a single match. The third seed beat fellow American Tommy Paul, the twelfth seed, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the first quarter-final of the Rolex Paris Masters on Friday to reach his first semi-final at the tournament. He will face Frenchman Luca Van Assche, who beat qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5 later in the day.
The direct outcome of this result is that it ends Paul’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals: he needed to reach the final to pass Rafael Jodar for the last place. It also sends Frances Tiafoe to Turin, the ATP said.
Shelton, already qualified, now leads their head-to-head 3-2.
How Shelton beat Paul in three sets
Shelton dropped his serve only once, in the second set, and broke Paul once in each of the other two. He served 11 aces to Paul’s five and landed 82 per cent of his first serves.
Rallies were short: 42 per cent of the points lasted one shot or less, and only five of the 154 points, 3 per cent, went beyond nine shots.
The world No. 4 hit 35 winners to Paul’s 21, for 21 unforced errors to 22, and won 10 of his 11 points at the net. He converted two of his four break points and faced only one.
Shelton one win from the Paris final
It is Shelton’s third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. On the previous two occasions, he went on to win the title, in Toronto in 2025 and in Montreal in 2026.
Shelton beat Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match, then came from a set down to beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the last 16. He had reached the quarter-finals in Paris last year.
Paul had beaten 2022 champion Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4, Daniel Merida 6-1, 6-1 and Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4. His quarter-final equalled his best result in Paris, from 2022.
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 quarter-final results
Luca Van Assche d. Rinky Hijikata (Q) 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5
Ben Shelton (3) d. Tommy Paul (12) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Casper Ruud vs Nuno Borges (LL) (Friday)
Taylor Fritz (11) vs Carlos Alcaraz (2) (Friday)
In bold: today’s results.
