Alcaraz Survives Fritz Trap at Paris Tournament, Advances to Semifinals Alongside Shelton

The 23-year-old Spaniard managed to overturn his deficit to win 6-7 (12-10), 7-5, and 6-3, reaching the tournament’s semifinals for the first time in his professional career.

In scenes reminiscent of his historic comeback in last year’s French Open final, the second of the four Grand Slam titles, played on the courts of Roland Garros against Italy’s Jannik Sinner—where he saved three match points that would have handed his opponent the title—Alcaraz once again stunned the Parisian crowd by snatching a seemingly impossible victory from the jaws of defeat.

Speaking to journalists, Alcaraz said, “This match will likely be one of the most special of my career, and I will remember it for a long time.”

The painful loss also ended the hopes of world No. 12 Taylor Fritz of qualifying for the year-end ATP Masters Finals in Turin.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz’s compatriot, 20-year-old Rafael Nadal, will make his debut at the year-end finals, capping an exceptional first season after turning professional only last December.

Despite playing just one match on his way to the quarterfinals, Alcaraz showed no signs of rust from his absence from competition. He seized the first opportunity to break his opponent’s serve in the fifth game of the first set with a successful forehand that passed Fritz.

The Spaniard found himself under immense pressure to hold his serve when he led 4-3, but he saved three break points to maintain the advantage. However, he did not enjoy the same luck two games later, as Fritz exploited a dip in Alcaraz’s serving performance to break without losing a point, leveling the score at 5-5 and then 6-6.

In a thrilling tiebreak, both players missed more than one chance to clinch the set before Alcaraz hit a forehand out, handing the first set to the American.

After coming back from a 0-40 deficit and holding his serve at the start of the second set, Alcaraz pointed to his ear and raised his fist in an attempt to energize the Parisian crowd, a gesture that recalled his five-set epic at Roland Garros.

Nevertheless, he continued to struggle to find effective solutions against Fritz’s serve, which measures 196 centimeters. In fact, the world No. 12 was the first to break serve in the second set, doing so in the seventh game and moving closer to victory.

But Alcaraz saved a match point and then held his serve thanks to a stunning backhand slice hit from nearly outside the baseline.

In the next game, he saved another match point with a successful running shot before reigniting the crowd’s enthusiasm by unexpectedly breaking Fritz’s serve. He then completed his remarkable comeback by breaking again, forcing a decisive third set.

The Murcian appeared at the peak of his form, taking the lead in the deciding set at 3-1 after forcing Fritz to hit a volley out of bounds.

Despite having to defend multiple break points in a match marked by fluctuations, as the end approached, he earned two match points on his own serve. He secured the first with a powerful forehand that Fritz could only manage to touch with the frame of his racket when attempting to return it.

Alcaraz will face either Norway’s Casper Ruud, the former world No. 2, or Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who qualified for the main draw as a “lucky loser,” in the next round.

American Ben Shelton, the world No. 4, advanced with a hard-fought victory over compatriot Tommy Paul, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, in a marathon match lasting 105 minutes.

A single break in each set was enough to separate the players, and victory went to 24-year-old Shelton, who became the first American to reach the quarterfinals at the Paris Games since John Isner and eventual champion Jack Sock in 2017. Shelton will face Frenchman Luca Van Assche, ranked 47th in the world, who eliminated Australian qualifier Renkai Higikata with a score of 6-4, 6-7 (7-4), 7-5.