Taylor Fritz served for a place in the Rolex Paris Masters semifinals at 5-4 in the second set on Friday night, one point from taking himself to Turin. Carlos Alcaraz answered with a crosscourt forehand pass, broke for 5-5 and won the next two games. He won 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 44 minutes, and the result sent Rafael Jodar to the Nitto ATP Finals as the eighth and last qualifier.
Frances Tiafoe was already in. Ben Shelton beat Tommy Paul 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 earlier on Court Central, which ended Paul’s chance of winning the title he needed and confirmed Tiafoe as the seventh qualifier. Both Americans who could still have caught Tiafoe and Jodar were out by the end of the night, and the field for Turin, 15-22 November, is complete.
The match that decided it. Fritz had looked the likelier winner for most of two sets. Alcaraz broke for 2-2 in the first set, and Fritz was 3-5 and 15/30 down on his own serve before he won 11 points in a row to lead 6-5. He saved three set points in the tie-break and took it on his third set point when Alcaraz sent a forehand wide.
Fritz had 0/40 on the Alcaraz serve early in the second set, and Alcaraz held, one of the points a backhand pass struck off his back foot. Fritz still reached 5-3. At 3-5 Alcaraz saved the first match point with a forehand hit behind Fritz and closed the game with a backhand drop shot. The second came with Fritz serving at 5-4, and the crosscourt pass that saved it turned the match. Alcaraz made 11 unforced errors in the third set, down from 14 in the second.
“I would say 3-5 serving, that game we played incredible tennis,” Alcaraz said. “I tried to stay strong mentally and save those break points and match points.” He added: “The feeling I have today is unmatched.”
It was the seventh match Alcaraz has won after saving match points, and it took him to his first Paris semifinal and a 7-1 lead in his head-to-head with Fritz. He has won seven matches in a row, a run that includes the Vienna title last week.
Shelton and Paul. Shelton hit 19 aces and converted two of the four break points he earned. His break in the first set came from two Paul double faults and a return winner on break point. Paul broke early in the second and levelled the match, and Shelton broke again in the third and served it out. “I thought the first set was definitely a serving contest,” Shelton said. Of Tiafoe, he said: “Frances has had an outstanding year. One of my best friends, and to see him make Turin for the first time is amazing.”
Who qualified. The eight are Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Tiafoe and Jodar. Half the field is making a debut: Cobolli, Fils, Tiafoe and Jodar. Fils is the first Frenchman to qualify since Gael Monfils in 2016, and Alcaraz and Jodar are the first two Spaniards to qualify directly since 2015. Shelton played college tennis at Florida and Jodar at Virginia, the first time since 2018 that two former college players have made the field.
Jannik Sinner is second in the Race to Turin on 7,950 points but ended his season in October with a knee injury, which is why ninth place was enough. The Live Race after Friday has Tiafoe eighth on 3,390 and Jodar ninth on 3,234, ahead of Alex de Minaur on 3,170, Fritz on 3,050 and Paul on 2,925. Fritz leaves Paris 11th. How each of them could have got there is set out in our qualification scenarios before Friday.
Tiafoe’s year. Tiafoe, 28, qualifies for the first time. He won the title in Halle, reached finals in Cincinnati and Acapulco, and made the US Open semifinals for the third time, beating Medvedev on the way. It is the second year running that two Americans have qualified, after Shelton and Fritz in 2025. Before that it had not happened since Andy Roddick and James Blake in 2006.
Jodar’s year. A year ago Jodar was ranked No. 166 and still a student-athlete at the University of Virginia. He was a practice partner at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals and qualified for the event in 2025, and he is the first player since Alcaraz to reach the Nitto ATP Finals the year after playing the Next Gen event. He is 20. His climb into the top 10 is in our list of the fastest rises to the ATP top 10.
What happens next. The group draw is on Thursday 12 November at about 12:45 CET, splitting the eight into the John McEnroe Group and the Ivan Lendl Group. The format, points and prize money are in our ATP Finals guide. De Minaur, 10th, is the next player on the selection list, and how the alternate is used if a qualifier withdraws is covered in our ATP Finals alternates explainer. The alternate has not yet been named.
Fritz is the top seed at the Stockholm Open next week, but nothing he does there can change Turin. Results from ATP Tour events in the week after Paris count towards next year’s qualification, as our ATP Finals cutoff explainer sets out.
Saturday in Paris. The field does not depend on the semifinals. Shelton plays Luca Van Assche, who beat qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5, not before 14:30 (08:30 ET) on Court Central. Alcaraz plays Casper Ruud, a 7-6(5), 6-4 winner over lucky loser Nuno Borges, not before 17:00 (11:00 ET). The final is on Sunday.
