Two match points for Taylor Fritz. A deciding set for Ben Shelton. And a home crowd watching Luca Van Assche go deep into a third set with a first Paris semi-final on the line. If you wanted a straightforward Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters, you picked the wrong day.
Alcaraz survives a real scare
Carlos Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz 6–7(10), 7–5, 6–3.
Fritz took the opening tie-break 12–10 and got close enough to see the finish line. Twice he had match point. Twice Alcaraz got out of trouble. Once Alcaraz took the second set, he finally had some breathing room, and he made it count in the third.
That second set is the one I’d go back and watch. The score says 7–5, but tucked inside it are two points that could have ended Alcaraz’s week. Instead, he’s into his first Paris Masters semi-final, and Fritz’s hopes of making the ATP Finals are over.
Shelton wins the all-American battle
Ben Shelton beat Tommy Paul 6–4, 4–6, 6–3.
There was little to separate these two going in. They had split their four previous meetings, and after trading sets on Friday, they were level again. Shelton found the break in the decider and took his place in the last four. For Paul, the defeat also ended his bid to reach Turin.
Van Assche gives Paris another match to cheer
Luca Van Assche beat Rinky Hijikata 6–4, 6–7(4), 7–5.
If Alcaraz and Fritz was the match of the day, Van Assche was the story of it. He’d already beaten Lorenzo Musetti, and here he had to go the distance against a qualifier who had knocked out Novak Djokovic. Hijikata took the second-set tie-break and pushed the third to 5–5. Van Assche took the last two games.
Neither man had won a match at this tournament before this week. Now Van Assche has a semi-final against Shelton and a Paris crowd that has every reason to believe there’s another win in him.
One semi-final spot still to settle
Casper Ruud and Nuno Borges were last on the quarter-final schedule, with the winner due to face Alcaraz. Both reached the last eight without dropping a set in the main draw. For Borges, who got in as a lucky loser, that was already some week.
The semi-final I’m circling is Shelton against Van Assche. Shelton has the serve to take the crowd out of a match for stretches. If Van Assche can keep the sets close, every late return game will give Paris a reason to get loud again.
Author: swoosh0018
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