Ben Shelton’s Paris Masters Quarterfinal Showdown with Tommy Paul

Ben Shelton survived a massive test against Arthur Rinderknech at the Paris Masters on Thursday.

The American No. 1 seed dropped the first set 3-6.

He fought back to take the second set 6-4.

The third set went to a tiebreak.

Shelton found himself trailing 2-4 in that final-set tiebreak.

He won five of the next six points to take it 7-5.

The match lasted two hours and 18 minutes.

Rinderknech, a French wild card, had already beaten a top-20 player earlier in the tournament.

The crowd at the Plenitude Arena was heavily behind the home favorite.

Shelton showed why he will be competing at the Nitto ATP Finals in a couple of weeks.

He will now face Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals.

It will be an all-American quarterfinal in Paris.

Paul advanced by defeating another French hope, Quentin Halys, in straight sets.

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

The match carries extra meaning for Paul.

Paul is fighting to secure his spot at the ATP Finals in Turin.

He must win this match to keep his Turin dream alive.

Shelton spoke to the ATP website ahead of the contest.

He said he is expecting fireworks.

He called Paul a great player and a great friend.

Shelton said he has been rooting for Paul all year to make the push for Turin.

Shelton recently hired Juan Carlos Ferrero as his new coach.

Ferrero is a former world No. 1 and coached Carlos Alcaraz to multiple Grand Slam titles.

During his on-court interview after the Rinderknech match, Shelton was asked about court speed at the Paris Masters.

An ATP spokesperson said the Paris Masters has been measured as the quickest court on tour since they started measuring court speed.

Shelton disagreed with that assessment.

He said he thinks Basel last week was faster.

He also said Cincinnati was faster.

According to Tennis Abstract, the 2025 Paris Masters had a surface speed rating of 0.94.

That rating falls in the bottom half of court speed measurements across all ATP Tour events.

Tennis Abstract has not yet published court speed data for the 2026 Paris Masters.

Shelton said the court speed is something he has to get used to.

He normally prefers a slower, high-bouncing hard court.

But he said his game is also effective on fast surfaces if he can feel more comfortable.

He said he tries to get one percent better each day.

Shelton said his game has cleaned up so much that he can extend points on fast surfaces.

He said he can handle pace better now.

He said his returning has improved.

He believes those improvements make all the difference.

The quarterfinal match is scheduled for 2 p.m. local time on Friday.

In other Paris Masters results, Rinky Hijikata backed up his win over Novak Djokovic by defeating Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Lorenzo Musetti was eliminated by Luca Van Assche.

The winner of Shelton-Paul will face the winner of the other quarterfinal in the semifinals.

The Paris Masters is an ATP Masters 1000 event.

It is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the ATP calendar outside the Grand Slams.

The tournament is played on indoor hard courts at the Accor Arena in Paris.

The surface has historically been considered one of the fastest on tour.

Players with big serves and aggressive games have traditionally done well here.

Shelton is known for his powerful left-handed serve and explosive forehand.

Paul is known for his speed, return game, and all-court versatility.

The two Americans have known each other since their junior days.