Shelton does Jódar a favor in Paris and now everything is in Alcaraz’s hands

Rafa Jodar He made his life complicated by losing against Casper Ruud in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000 and his participation in the ATP Finals in Turin no longer depended on himself. However, rivals like Djokovic or De Minaur were not successful either and having a place in the top eight depended on knowing what Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz were doing. Paul had to reach the final and Fritz to the semis to take Jódar’s place. Luckily for the Spaniard, the first is already ruled out.

And it is thatBen Shelton won the American duel in the Paris quarterfinals in three sets (6-4,4-6,6-3) and leaves Paul out of the race for Turin. The first set was even and it was not until the end that Juan Carlos Ferrero’s next disciple broke his compatriot’s serve to take the lead in the duel.

Paul, aware of what was at stake, did not take long to react and at the first change of the second set he broke Shelton’s serve and held serve until the end to equalize the duel. The third and final set, however, Tommy Paul was clearly surpassed by Shelton, who sealed his place in the semifinals of Paris and is already waiting for a rival. The other semi-finalist will emerge from the match between Van Assche and Hijikata.

Thus, Paul’s participation in the ATP Finals is ruled out. Jódar then gets an extra life and now everything is in the hands of Carlos Alcaraz, who faces Taylor Fritz in these quarterfinals in Paris. If the Spaniard beats the American, Jódar would already have his ticket to Turin. In the event that Fritz beats the Murcian, it will be the American who will be with the eight best. With the elimination of Paul, the one who already has a certified ticket for the ATP Finals for the first time in her career is Frances Tiafoe.