Carlos Alcaraz rallies past Taylor Fritz in Paris semis; ATP Finals set

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz performs at his very best when his back is against the wall.

The world's No. 3-ranked player trailed a desperate Taylor Fritz by a set and a break and faced two match points in the second set in the Rolex Paris Masters on Friday.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion saved a match point while serving at 3-5 and another with Fritz serving for the match at 5-4. Alcaraz broke to level the set, held for 6-5 and broke again to force a decider before completing a 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3 victory that eliminated Fritz from ATP Finals contention.

Alcaraz will face Norway's Casper Ruud in the semifinals on Saturday. Ruud got past Portugal's Nuno Borges, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The Spaniard broke Fritz in the fourth game of the deciding set and uncorked 14 winners en route to his seventh win in eight matches vs. Fritz.

"I tried not to let myself down in the difficult moments in the second set," Alcaraz said. "I tried to stay strong mentally and save those break points and match points. I would say 3-5 serving, that game we played incredible tennis. That point (to hold for 4-5) made people stand up and bring the energy into the match.

"I used the people and the energy and gave them what they really wanted to watch and I am really happy to play for one and a half hours more to entertain them. The feeling I have today is unmatched."

On two occasions, Fritz was one point away from moving past Spain's Rafael Jodar and into the final slot in the eight-man ATP Finals in Turin, Italy later this month.

But the 20-year-old Jodar, who was eliminated by Ruud in the second round, will head to Turin, along with Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils and Frances Tiafoe.

Borges battled Ruud on even terms, but the Norwegian eked out a tiebreaker win in the first set and earned the match's lone break in the seventh game of the second set for his first semifinal appearance in the Paris indoor event.

On the other side of the bracket, Shelton defeated Tommy Paul, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, while France's Luca Van Assche outlasted Australian Rinky Hijikata, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5.

Paul needed to reach the final to qualify for Turin, but Shelton won 20 of 25 service points and struck eight aces in the deciding set. Shelton broke Paul in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and served out the victory.

Saturday's semifinal clash between Shelton and Van Assche will be their first meeting.

--Field Level Media/Reuters