No. 3 seed Ben Shelton and No. 12 seed Tommy Paul will square off in an all-American quarterfinal showdown after each man advanced Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Shelton needed all three sets to take down home favorite Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). Shelton broke the Frenchman’s serve in the 10th game of the second set to extend the match, and the players held serve again until the tiebreaker, where Shelton rallied from a 4-2 hole and won on his first match point.
Shelton, 24, has had a standout year and hopes to add his second ATP Masters 1000 title to the list after taking the Canadian Open in August.
To do so, he’ll first need to get through Paul, who defeated another Frenchman, Quentin Halys, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
Paul, who is trying to keep a faint chance at qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals alive, won a whopping 43 of 45 first-service points (95.6%) against Halys. Paul had 36 winners to only 14 unforced errors.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the court, but I’m looking forward to it,” Shelton said of facing Paul. “He’s in great form right now. A great player, a great friend. I’ve been rooting for him all year to make a push and make it to Turin. It will be fireworks (Friday).”
Shelton and Paul are 2-2 against one another in their ATP careers.
Shelton is already a lock for the Nitto ATP Finals, while Paul is No. 13 in the live Race to Turin standings and needs to finish No. 9 or better (due to Jannik Sinner’s season-ending injury keeping him out of the tournament).
A third American toppled a Frenchman on Thursday. No. 11 seed Taylor Fritz upset No. 6 Arthur Fils 6-3, 6-4. Fritz is also No. 11 in the Race to Turin.
“I was returning really well and serving really well,” said Fritz, who served up 14 aces without a double fault. “That kind of takes care of itself when I am serving well and playing aggressively. It was fast conditions, and it really enabled me when I stepped in and went for the shots.”
His next task is to face No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish star advanced via walkover when Italy’s Matteo Berrettini dropped out due to an arm injury.
Meanwhile, the only Frenchman still alive is Luca Van Assche, who battled past Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata stormed back to beat Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Casper Ruud of Norway topped Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, in 63 minutes, and Portuguese lucky loser Nuno Borges dispatched Peru’s Ignacio Buse 6-0, 6-2 in 71 minutes.
–Field Level Media
