Alcaraz wins Paris final 7-6, 7-5 as Shelton's 12 aces go unanswered

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Twelve aces from Ben Shelton and not a single double fault in the opening set — and still the trophy went the other way. Carlos Alcaraz took the Paris final 7-6, 7-5, outscoring his opponent 85 points to 73 and 14 games to 11.

The first set was a serving standoff. Shelton landed six aces, Alcaraz three, and nobody dropped serve: Shelton saved 2/2 break points, Alcaraz 6/6 — eight break points faced, eight erased. The margins lived on serve and return: Shelton won 28 points on serve to 30, and 14 on return to 18. When the set's only tiebreak arrived, Alcaraz took it.

Set two turned on the return, even as Shelton kept firing — six more aces against three. Alcaraz broke twice; Shelton answered once, saving just 1 of 3 break points on his own serve. Alcaraz had erased everything thrown at him in the first set, but he failed to save the only break point he faced in the second — and still carried the margin that mattered, closing it 7-5 with 14 return points to 11.

Alcaraz won this title behind the first strike. He landed 56 of 78 first serves, 72%, against Shelton's 52 of 80, 65%, and won 40 points behind his first delivery to Shelton's 33. On return he collected 32 points to 25. He saved 6 of the 7 break points he faced; Shelton saved 3 of 5. Service points finished 53-48 in his favour, games 14-11.

Shelton supplied the fireworks — 12 aces to 6, one double fault to two. Alcaraz supplied the arithmetic. First serves won this final, and Carlos Alcaraz hit them when they counted.