Alcaraz Saves Two Match Points to Beat Fritz, End His ATP Finals Bid

Carlos Alcaraz saved two match points to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-7 (10/12), 7-5, 6-3 on Friday and reach the Paris Masters semifinals for the first time, Al Jazeera reported. The result also ended Fritz's chance of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals.

According to ubitennis, Fritz had two match points that would have put him in both the Paris semifinals and the Finals field. With Fritz out, Spain's Rafael Jodar takes the last place in the eight-man lineup for Turin, Tennishead reported.

How Alcaraz turned the match around

The 23-year-old, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, lost a first-set tiebreak in which both players had set points. Tennishead said the match lasted two hours and 45 minutes and that Alcaraz came back from 5-3 down in the second set.

Al Jazeera said Fritz broke in the seventh game of the second set, and Alcaraz then staved off a match point and held serve with a backhand slice hit from well outside the sideline. He saved a second match point in the next game with a passing shot, then broke back and broke again to force a deciding set.

Alcaraz moved ahead 3-1 in the third set when Fritz pushed a volley wide. He still had to save break points, according to Al Jazeera, before earning two match points on his own serve and closing out the win with a forehand that Fritz could only get the frame of.

Al Jazeera compared the comeback with Alcaraz's French Open final win over Jannik Sinner last season, when he saved three championship points. He also gestured to the Paris crowd to get louder during the second set.

What Alcaraz said afterward

Alcaraz told reporters he got nervous early and made decisions in the first-set tiebreak that he regretted, according to Tennishead. He said his mood changed after he held serve at 3-5 in the second set. He began to smile, hit better shots and draw energy from the crowd.

He called it “one of the most special matches” he had played and said he would remember it for a long time. He also told the ATP website, as ubitennis reported, that the feeling was “unmatched.” Alcaraz added that he wants to approach every match as something to enjoy, whether he wins or loses.

Why it matters for the rest of the season

For tennis fans, the match settled two storylines at once. Alcaraz is two wins from the Paris title, and the field for the ATP Finals is now complete. Al Jazeera said the loss also ended Tommy Paul's hopes of qualifying after he lost to fellow American Ben Shelton 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in an all-American quarterfinal.

Ubitennis listed the Turin field as Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Flavio Cobolli, Daniil Medvedev, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe and Jodar. Tiafoe, 28, and Jodar, 20, will both make their Finals debuts, Al Jazeera reported. Shelton called Tiafoe one of his best friends and said it was amazing to see him reach Turin for the first time.

What happens next

Alcaraz plays Casper Ruud in the semifinals on Saturday. The Norwegian, a former world number two, beat Portuguese lucky loser Nuno Borges 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, in a match that ubitennis said finished at 1 a.m.

It will be the eighth meeting between the two. Tennishead said Alcaraz has won six of their seven previous matches, including the 2022 U.S. Open final, where he won his first Grand Slam title. Ruud's only win came on indoor hard courts at the 2024 ATP Finals. Ruud praised Alcaraz as a fantastic person who is good for tennis and said he would see what he could come up with.

In the other semifinal, Shelton faces Luca Van Assche. The Frenchman ended the run of Australian Rinky Hijikata, who had come through qualifying to reach the quarterfinals, according to Al Jazeera. The ATP Finals run from Nov. 15-22 in Turin.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera, Tennishead, ubitennis