All-American quarterfinal: Shelton vs Paul for Paris supremacy

Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul each cut through tie-break tension on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters to set an intriguing all-American quarterfinal clash.

The third-seeded Shelton edged home favorite Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the last eight for the second consecutive year at the indoor hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event.

Paul, who took on another Frenchman, Quentin Halys, with the knowledge that defeat would end his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes, ground out a 7-6(3), 6-4 third-round victory.

Good friends Shelton and Paul will now contest their first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash since 2024 on Friday at Plenitude Arena.

Both players will be chasing their first Paris semifinal appearance.

Paul, who is 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, will also be looking to further strengthen his chances of completing a late surge toward a Nitto ATP Finals debut.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the court, but I’m looking forward to it,” Shelton said of taking on Paul.

“He’s in great form right now. A great player, a great friend. I’ve been rooting for him all year to make a push and make it to Turin. It will be fireworks tomorrow.”

The 24-year-old Shelton, who has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, won five of the final six points from 2/4 to clinch the deciding-set tie-break against Rinderknech.

It was the 43rd tour-level victory of the season for the American lefty, setting a new personal-best win tally for a single season following his 42 wins in 2024.

Although Paul remains four spots out of the qualification cut for Turin, the 29-year-old now trails ninth-placed Rafael Jodar by just 309 points in the Live Race.

Both he and 11th-placed Taylor Fritz, who is also still competing in the French capital, have the chance to catch Jodar and eighth-placed Frances Tiafoe, both of whom have exited the Paris draw.

The other quarterfinal in the top half of the draw will be between Rinky Hijikata and Luca Van Assche.

Hijikata backed up his second-round upset of Novak Djokovic by rallying past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.

The Australian is now into the last eight at a Masters 1000 event.

The career head-to-head record between Shelton and Paul is tied at 2-2.

They most recently faced at the 2024 Dallas Open semifinal, where Paul won 6-2, 6-4.

Shelton, who recently hired Juan Carlos Ferrero as his new coach, was also asked about the court speeds at the Paris Masters after his win.

An ATP spokesperson asked him: “Since they started measuring court speed on tour, this is the quickest court there’s been. How is that transferring to the game and to your game?”

Shelton quickly responded, stating that he disagreed with the notion of Paris owning the fastest courts on the Tour.

“I don’t agree. I think Basel last week was faster,” Shelton stated.

“I think Cincinnati was also faster, but that’s just me.”

According to Tennis Abstract, the 2025 Paris Masters had a surface speed of 0.94 — a rating that falls in the bottom half of court speed measurements across all ATP Tour events.

This analysis must be taken with a pinch of salt, as Tennis Abstract is yet to publish its court speed data for the 2026 Paris Masters.