Ben Shelton has reached his maiden final at the Paris Masters, defeating crowd favorite Luca Van Assche in a dramatic encounter. He staged a stunning comeback after losing the first set to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. He will be up against either Carlos Alcaraz or Casper Ruud in the final. The victory saw Shelton join greats like Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick on an elite list of American players.

Shelton has become just the third American male player to reach multiple Masters 1000 finals in a calendar year. He had previously lifted the title at the National Bank Open and is now in contention for the coveted trophy in Paris. Agassi was the first American to do so back in 2001. He did so again in 2002 before Roddick achieved the feat in 2003, 2004, and 2010.

Shelton had to dig deep for the victory as Van Assche almost pulled off a major upset. The World No. 4 was sluggish in the opening set and lost his serve at a crucial juncture as the local hero took the lead. But Shelton got back into his groove in the second set and levelled the match.

Despite gaining back the momentum, Shelton had a poor start to the decider. Van Assche got the early break and took a 3-1 lead. The underdog appeared to be cruising towards a monumental victory at one stage, but Shelton took his game to another level in the final stages of the match and clinched a double break. He then held his serve to win the match after two hours and 16 minutes.

The 24-year-old has qualified for his sixth tour-level final of the season, the joint-most alongside Jannik Sinner. Moreover, Shelton is the first American to play six finals in a season since James Blake in 2006. Notably, the latter reached eight finals on the Tour during that season.

Paris Masters has turned out to be quite a grueling tournament for Shelton. He has dropped three sets in four matches so far, and almost all of the encounters have gone down to the wire. After defeating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round, he played out a thriller against Arthur Rinderknech in the Round of 16 and triumphed 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. Tommy Paul also proved to be a tough challenger, but Shelton eventually pulled through to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

With the match against Van Assche also going the distance, there are chances that Shelton may not be at his physical best in the final on Sunday, November 8. On top of this, he doesn’t have a promising H2H record against either Alcaraz or Ruud.

The Paris Masters final can be a huge challenge for Ben Shelton

Shelton doesn’t have an advantage in the H2H record against either Alcaraz or Ruud. He trails the Spaniard 3-1, and the record is level at 2-2 when it comes to Ruud. Alcaraz had defeated Shelton in all of their first three meetings. However, he came up short against the American earlier at the US Open.

Shelton defeated Alcaraz 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 in a pulsating quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows. It could turn out to be another close affair if the two meet in the final of the Paris Masters.

On the other hand, Shelton also defeated Ruud when the two faced each other at the Australian Open earlier this year. He claimed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win in the Round of 16.

But Ruud has had quite a strong campaign in Paris this season and hasn’t dropped a set on his way to the semifinals. The Norwegian can be Shelton’s toughest opponent of the tournament if he reaches the final. It remains to be seen who will qualify for the final and tackle Shelton in the French capital.