Ben Shelton shows true colours immediately after losing final to Carlos Alcaraz
Ben Shelton showed his class in defeat as he missed out on the chance to claim a third Masters 1000 title. Coming into Sunday’s Paris Masters final, the world No. 4 had never lost a championship match at this level. But he fell short against Carlos Alcaraz, blowing a break lead in the second set to lose 7-6(5) 7-5. Although he couldn’t get over the line, Shelton was full of praise for his rival, who is now on a nine-match winning streak after winning the Vienna Open just seven days ago.
“I want to give a big congratulations to Carlos and your team. I don’t think anybody realises how difficult it is to go back-to-back in Vienna and Paris, 10 matches in 14 days,” the American explained.
It speaks to your versatility as a champion and the work you guys put in. I feel like I get better every time I’m on court with you. Super happy to have you back and healthy.”
Shelton continued by thanking everyone who worked behind the scenes at the tournament, adding: “To the French Federation, the tournament directors, the volunteers, transportation, the ball kids, umpires, practice desk. Everybody who makes this tournament possible.
It’s quickly turned into one of my favourite Masters 1000s. This venue is amazing, and you guys continue to level up every year, so congratulations for everything you’ve built here and thanks for an amazing tournament.”
Like Alcaraz, Shelton had never been beyond the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters until this year. He came from a set down to beat two Frenchmen – Arthur Rinderknech and Luca Van Assche – this week, and thanked the crowd for being fair.
“I want to speak to the fans. It’s been amazing this week. I’ve played in some awesome atmospheres, playing against French players. The atmosphere was amazing today as well, so thank you guys, I really appreciate it,” he continued.
“Last but not least, to my team, to my parents who are over there as well. We put in a lot of work this year. A lot of weeks that you guys have been travelling with me, and we’ve been grinding it out. We got two more, not quite done yet, but thank you guys for your commitment to me, and the work continues. Love you guys.”
Shelton has one tournament left for the season – the ATP Finals, beginning next Sunday in Turin. The American made his debut at the year-end championships in 2025, but went 0-3 in his round-robin matches.
He’ll be hoping to have a better experience this time around, and Alcaraz is already backing the world No. 4 to do well. “I’m pretty sure next week in the Finals you’re going to be back even stronger. I’m going to be afraid a little bit of you!” the Spaniard joked.
And Shelton has already made waves with his off-season plans, as he will add Juan Carlos Ferrero – Alcaraz’s former coach of seven years – to his team. Their partnership is slated to start properly during the off-season, but Ferrero will keep an eye on Shelton in Turin later this month
