Shelton Qualifies For Turin With A Huge Win At Paris Masters

Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton (photo: Florian Heer)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, October 30, 2025 (by Michael Dickens

Ben Shelton came into his third-round match at the Rolex Paris Masters Thursday afternoon against Andrey Rublev of Russia with plenty at stake. Not only was the World No. 7 from the United States aiming to record 40 wins in a season for the second-straight year after reaching 42 in 2024. 

Shelton was also looking to reach his sixth ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal and to become just the fourth American to reach four quarters in a single year at this level, following in the footsteps of Andy Roddick, John Isner and Taylor Fritz. He also knew that a victory over the World No. 17 Rublev would ensure his debut at next month’s Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

With a raucous Court 1 crowd cheering him on, Shelton made the most of his moment under the spotlight. He defeated Rublev, 7-6 (6), 6-3, in one hour and 35 minutes for his second win in two career meetings against the Russian No. 3. Although Rublev saved a pair of match points during his final service game, Shelton closed out the third-round victory on his third match-point opportunity.

Shelton (40-20) won many of the most important points, both during the first-set tie break and in the second set, when he broke Rublev in the seventh game to go up 4-3. He fired 15 aces and struck 25 winners overall. Shelton won 79 percent (34 of 43) of his first-serve points and was nearly flawless in securing points on his second serve, winning 13 of 15 (87 percent) exchanges. 

The American No. 2 faced no break points on his serve and his first of two breaks of Rublev’s serve in the second set proved to be the difference. The loss dropped Rublev’s 2025 win-loss record to 34-25. 

During his on-court interview afterward, Shelton was asked if he was aware that a win would punch his ticket for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin next month. “Yeah, I knew going in to today that this win qualified me,” he said. “I tried not to think about. I tried to keep my mind here on Paris this week. That’s what’s most important, what’s right in front of me. I knew at the end of the day that if I wanted to be in control of my own destiny, [I needed] to go out and win today.

“I knew when I stepped on the court that I was going to have to die on this court before I went down. So, I’m happy with the performance. I thought I brought out my best tennis that I’ve played in months. I’m just really excited to be in the quarterfinals.”

Shelton said it was important for him to come back from a left shoulder injury suffered during the US Open, which sidelined him until Shanghai, and return to form. “It’s huge,” he said. “It’s huge for me. It was always a huge goal, but most importantly to get back to this level that I played today. That’s where I wanted to be at. It’s where I was at in the summer around US Open time. To feel what I felt on court today is what I’m most proud about.”

With Shelton joining fellow Fritz in the Turin field, it’s the first time two U.S. singles players will compete for the Brad Drewett Trophy since 2006, when Roddick and James Blake were in the field.

Sinner achieves 50th win of season, indoor winning streak now 23

On Friday, Shelton will face World No. 2 and second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, who defeated No. 21 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 7-5, 6-1, in one hour and 25 minutes Thursday evening featured match on Court Central.

Sinner’s 50th victory of the 2025 season extended to 23 matches his winning streak on indoor hard courts and his latest triumph over Cerundolo was his fourth in six meetings. Now, Sinner has reached his first Rolex Paris Masters quarterfinal, which completes the set of quarterfinals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events in his career. He’s the first Italian to do so.

Sinner struck 22 winners – four of them aces – and won 83 percent (29 of 35) of his first serve points. He converted five of eight break points against Cerundolo and outpointed the Argentine 68-45.

“I was up twice with the break in the first set,” Sinner described in his on-court interview with ATP Media. “I couldn’t convert. I put myself in an uneasy situation. I’m happy how I handled the match. I felt much better. This hopefully can give me confidence to start off tomorrow in a good way.

“Every match is different. Let’s see what’s coming. I hope I can recover physically, that’s my main priority. We’ll see how it goes. Today was still a great match and a great performance on my side.”

Opportunity knocks for Vacherot, again

Monegasque wild card Valentin Vacherot extended his ATP Masters 1000 winning streak to 10 after he eliminated bracket-busting Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, who defeated World No. 1 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the second round Tuesday evening. 

The 40th-ranked Vacheot reached consecutive ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals with his 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over No. 31 Norrie in one hour and 36 minutes to open the day on Court Central Thursday. The good times keep rolling for Vacherot, who has won 10 of his 12 matches this year against Top-50 opponents.

“It’s a really, really big performance,” Vacherot said during his on-court interview with ATP Media after winning his 15th tour-level match of the season. “I think that’s my best match because I won way easier against Lehecka in the first round. Today, Cameron was really tough. He just makes you hit a ton of balls, he makes you run. You have to be focused if you want to win.

“I’m really proud how I handled the tough moments in the match and we keep going.”

After gutting out a first-set tie-break 7-4, Vacherot saved two break points during a 14-point, fourth game that lasted nearly 10 minutes to hold for 2-all in the second set. Then, he gained his first break point of the match in the ensuing game and made it count after Norrie netted a fifth-shot backhand from the baseline to go ahead 3-2. 

Next, after consolidating the break to further his lead, Vacherot remained steady and focused. He saved a couple of break points during his next service game and at 5-4 served for the match and a berth in the quarterfinal round. Vacherot played all the angles right and closed out the third-round victory on his serve, winning on his second match-point opportunity. He raised his arms in celebration while receiving the plaudits from the large crowd that filled La Défense Arena for the early matinee.

The man from Monaco has remained a man on a mission, beaming a big smile after each victory like he did as he met Norrie at the net. He was more than happy to talk about his newly-found tennis stardom afterward during his post-match news conference.

“Any time, anything is possible, you know, in tennis,” Vacherot said. “But no, of course I would have never expected this trick. Good thing I keep going here, maybe enjoying the matches even more than in Shanghai. It’s so much fun to play out here. Yeah, I just hope to keep going.”

Auger-Aliassime reaches sixth-straight quarterfinal

Next, Vacherot, who has moved up in the PIF ATP Live Rankings to No. 30 with his latest Masters run, will face No. 9 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the last eight.

The World No. 10 Auger-Aliassime, who came into his third-round match against No. 50 Daniel Altmaier of Germany bidding to reach the quarterfinals for a sixth-straight event since losing in the second round at Toronto, rallied from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in two hours and eleven minutes on Court Central. 

After earlier wins over Francisco Comesana and Alexandre Mueller, Auger-Aliassime’s triumph over Altmaier was his third consecutive victory in the French capital that has required him to come from behind in order to win.

“It’s three sets all week. It’s been a struggle fighting back I feel like every day,” Auger-Aliassime said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “I came in today knowing that it might be tough again, so just stay calm, stay patient and try to trust myself and try to dig deep. I knew I had solutions within myself. It was just about making the right choices, executing right. I started serving better and better as the match went on.”

Auger-Aliassime overcame 31 unforced errors to hit 29 winners, compared to 21 winners and 30 unforced errors by Altmaier. The German No. 2 added six aces.

“I was struggling with his change of pace on the serve in the first set – either 160 slow or flat T – a bit of a mix up in my mind, like where to return. Then I found a way to pressure him. I broke him three times the rest of the match. It was good,” he said.

Auger-Aliassime muted a strong start by Altmaeier and broke his opponent twice in the final set – three times overall during the second-round match. Then, he closed out the victory with an emphatic ace – his seventh to move on. Overall, the Canadian No. 1 dominated with his serve by winning 87 percent (39 of 45) of his first-serve points. He saved four of five break points, converted three of 10 break-point chances and outpointed Altmaier 92-76.

Currently residing in ninth place and 290 points behind Lorenzo Musetti for the final spot in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Auger-Aliassime was asked about facing Vacherot, whom he’s trained with in Monaco. It will be their first time playing against each other at tour-level. “I’ve known Valentin for quite a few years,” he said. “He’s kind of like the best player of the world right now. He’s quite untouchable, he’s barely losing [any matches]. It’s a fun challenge, it’s exciting. I think it’s going to get good crowd support here. It’s different. It will be interesting for me to find solutions to match up my game against him.

“He’s hot right now. He’s playing the best in his career. So, let’s see how it goes.”

Bublik wins hard-hitting contest with Fritz

Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz combined to hit 62 winners between them during their third-round match on Court Central Wednesday afternoon. By the end, Bublik won on his fourth match-point opportunity. He fired a 170 km/h forehand winner – his 34 winner of the match – and beat the World No. 4 from the United States, 7-6 (5), 6-2, in an hour and 26 minutes for his personal-best 36th victory. It also lifted him into his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in four years.

The No. 13-seed Bublik from Kazakhstan, who outpointed Fritz 81-69, won 74 percent (35 of 47) of his first-serve points, saved all four break points he faced and converted two of 10 chances against Fritz. The American No. 1 and fourth seed countered with 28 winners but also made 25 unforced errors – four more than Bublik. 

“I felt great today,” Bublik said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “My forehands were sitting in. I was hitting the spots. For me, it’s the chances that I used and, obviously, him not being 100 percent, I think. Because he has a very important tournament to go [to]. It’s way more important than beating me here, huh?”

With Bublik’s triumph over Fritz, who yesterday qualified for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, it leveled his record against Top-5 opponents this year at 3-3.

De Minaur garners ATP Tour-leading 42nd hard-court win of season

In Friday’s quarterfinal round, Bublik will face World No. 6 and sixth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, who easily advanced over No. 10 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-2, 6-2, in 68 minutes on Court 1. It was his ATP Tour-leading 42nd hard-court triumph of 2025.

The Australian No. 1 from Sydney won 79 percent (22 of 28) of his first-serve points, saved all three break points he faced, converted four break points against Khachanov and outpointed him 58-39.

De Minaur qualified for his second-straight Nitto ATP Finals in Turin with his 55th victory of the season in his 75th match overall. He’s also through to his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the year and eighth overall. During his on-court interview, de Minaur was asked to describe the feeling of qualifying for Turin, again.

“Gee that feels amazing,” he said. “It’s been a lot of stress going on the last couple of weeks of the year. I did my best not to keep an eye out on the race. It was too hard. It’s the first I hear and I’m extremely proud. Now, I can finally just relax for a bit. …

“There’s a feeling in the back of your mind that you kind of know where everyone’s at. I didn’t know that with a win today I was qualified. So, I’m extremely stoked. Just to be able to bring out this sort of level under the circumstances means the world to me to be in the quarterfinals. Now, I can go out and enjoy it a little bit more.”

Medvedev reaches 25th career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal

World No. 13 and 11th seed Daniil Medvedev defeated No. 45 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy for the third straight time. The Russian No. 1’s 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory in two hours and 39 minutes on Court 1 enabled him to reach his 25th career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal. He’s just the fourth active player after Novak Djokovic (97), Alexander Zverev (34) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (25) to achieve the feat.

With his 41st win of the season, Medvedev has also advanced to his fifth quarterfinal in his last six events played after bowing out of the US Open in the opening round. Last week, he lost in the second round to Corentin Moutet of France in the second round at Vienna. Earlier this month, he won his first ATP Tour singles title since 2023 at Almaty. Medvedev has won the Rolex Paris Masters once, in 2020.

Against Sonego, Medvedev hit 36 winners – including eight aces – and endured making 28 unforced errors. By comparison, Sonego produced 41 winners but committed 33 unforced errors. Medvedev converted two of seven break points and was outpointed by Sonego 105-102.

Zverev reaches 35th career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal

In Friday’s quarterfinal round, Medvedev will be opposed by World No. 3 and third seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, who advanced to his 35th career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal – 10th most all-time – with his 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 15 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain in one hour and 36 minutes on Court Central Thursday evening.

Davidovich Fokina was a finalist Sunday at Basel while Zverev, who is chasing after his eighth career ATP Masters 1000 crown, lost the Vienna title match last weekend.

The defending champion Zverev hit 18 winners, made just 11 unforced errors, converted four of 11 break points and outpointed Davidovich Fokina 68-51.

Around La Défense Arena

While much of the focus this week has been on the singles draw, the doubles draw has reached the quarterfinal round following the completion of Thursday’s round of 16. Among the winning teams advancing are No. 5 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz of Germany, who defeated Austin Krajicek of the United States and Nikola Mektic of Croatia, 4-6, 7-5, 10-6, for their 40th win of the season as a team.

Earlier this week, Krawietz and Puetz, who won last year’s Nitto ATP Finals title, qualified for a return to Turin to defend their title. 

In the quarterfinals, Krawietz and Puetz, who recently won the Shanghai Masters title will face No. 2 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain, who won last week’s Vienna title and have won seven doubles crowns this season. The British duo defeated Yuki Bhambri of India and Adam Pavlasek of Czechia, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 10-7.

Also advancing were No. 3 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain, who defeated Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard-Roger Vasselin of France, 6-1, 6-4.

Meanwhile, No. 4 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina were upset by Vienna finalists Francisco Cabral of Portugal and Lucas Miedler of Austria, 7-5, 6-3. 

Thursday’s Rolex Paris Masters results

Friday’s Rolex Paris Masters order of play

By the numbers

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada leads the ATP Tour in most indoor victories this decade with 81. With Thursday’s win over Daniel Altmaier, he has reached his sixth-straight ATP Tour quarterfinal.

“Quotable …”

“It’s been a successful week in Paris and I’m proud to be able to assess my condition and to prove that my efforts and those of my team are in the right direction. After performing competitively for some days, I felt confident it was the right time to stop. Excited for the challenges and opportunities 2026 will bring!”

– Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, writing on his Instagram feed, after withdrawing from the tournament before his second-round match Wednesday against Daniil Medvedev.

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