Paris Masters: Ben Shelton Reaches First Semi-Final as Shock Week Continues in Paris

The 2026 Paris Masters has turned into one of the most unpredictable weeks in recent tennis history. The new world No. 1 lost his first match at the top, Novak Djokovic missed out on the season-ending ATP Finals, and a string of unseeded players tore through the draw. On Friday, Ben Shelton added the latest twist by reaching his first Paris semi-final, beating fellow American Tommy Paul in three sets.

It has been a week where almost nothing went as expected. The tournament in Paris is the last Masters 1000 event of the season, played indoors on hard courts, and it usually decides the final places at the ATP Finals in Turin. This year it has done much more than that. It has shaken up the men’s game, ended a great champion’s season, and given a new world No. 1 a painful lesson in his very first match at the top.

Shelton beats Paul to reach the last four

Ben Shelton, the third seed, beat Tommy Paul 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in Friday’s quarter-final to reach his first semi-final at the Paris Masters. The American served 19 aces and dropped his serve only once in a match that lasted just over two hours.

Shelton took the first set with a single break of serve, then Paul hit back to level the match. But Shelton stayed calm in the deciding set, breaking Paul early and holding his nerve to close out the win.

It is Shelton’s third Masters 1000 semi-final, and he has won the title on both previous occasions, in Toronto in 2025 and in Montreal in 2026. That record will give him confidence as he heads into Saturday’s semi-final, where he will face Frenchman Luca Van Assche.

Shelton is already sure of his place at the ATP Finals in Turin, which start on 15 November. He secured his spot earlier in the week, and he has also announced a new coaching partnership with former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the Spaniard who won the French Open in 2003.

For Paul, the defeat was a painful one. The 14th-ranked American had been in the running for one of the last places at the ATP Finals, and the loss to his compatriot ended those hopes.

Zverev’s first match as world No. 1 ends in defeat

The biggest shock of the week came on Wednesday, when Alexander Zverev lost his first match as world No. 1. The 29-year-old German, who climbed to the top of the rankings on Monday for the first time in his career, was beaten 7-6 (5), 6-2 by Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the second round.

Zverev had earned the No. 1 ranking after a brilliant year in which he won the French Open and the US Open, his first two Grand Slam titles. He arrived in Paris as the top seed and the man to beat. Instead, he became the first player in tennis history to lose in straight sets in his first match as world No. 1.

He is only the second world No. 1, after Austria’s Thomas Muster, to lose his first match at the top at a tournament other than the Davis Cup. Muster lost his first match as No. 1 in 1996, but he at least won a set. Zverev did not.

The match turned on the first-set tie-break. Zverev led 5-2 and looked in control, but he then lost five points in a row and six of the next eight games. Musetti, ranked 24th in the world, took charge in the second set, breaking Zverev twice on his way to victory.

Musetti, a 24-year-old Italian and former world No. 5, hit 29 winners and eight aces. He has now beaten Zverev four times in six meetings. The win was a reward for a player who has battled injuries all season. His hardest moment came at the Australian Open in January, where he had to retire while leading Djokovic by two sets in their quarter-final.

Zverev was clearly upset afterwards. He said he was "annoyed" at having to justify his place as world No. 1, and added: "I deserve to be where I am." The defeat will sting, but it does not cost him his ranking or his place at the ATP Finals, which he had already secured. What it cost him was a chance to win in Paris and to make a strong start to his time at the top.

Zverev had also lost in the semi-finals of the Vienna Open to Australia’s Alex de Minaur only days before arriving in Paris, so his form had already been shaky. Even so, few people expected his first match as No. 1 to end this way.

Djokovic misses out on the ATP Finals

If Zverev’s defeat was a shock, what happened to Novak Djokovic on the same day was just as surprising. The 39-year-old Serb, a seven-time champion in Paris and a 24-time Grand Slam winner, lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Rinky Hijikata, a 25-year-old Australian qualifier ranked 83rd in the world.

Djokovic started well and won the first set comfortably. But Hijikata, who had already come through qualifying to reach the main draw, grew in confidence. He broke Djokovic in the eighth game of the second set to force a decider, then took the third set to complete one of the biggest wins of his career.

The defeat ended Djokovic’s season. He needed to reach the semi-finals in Paris to keep any chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin. Instead, he has failed to qualify for the season-ending event for only the second time in 20 seasons. The only other time was in 2017, when an elbow injury kept him out.

It also ended his hopes of an eighth Paris Masters title. Djokovic holds the record for the most titles at the event, with seven, and he had won his first-round match against Valentin Vacherot to become the oldest match winner in the tournament’s history. After the defeat to Hijikata, he told reporters that his plan for the coming weeks was "just rest".

For Hijikata, the win was the biggest of his life. The Australian, who won the doubles title at the Australian Open in 2023, had never beaten a player of Djokovic’s standing before. He went on to reach the quarter-finals, where he faced Van Assche for a place in the last four.

The underdogs keep winning

Zverev and Djokovic were not the only big names to fall. Wednesday was a day of upsets across the draw, and the surprises kept coming on Thursday.

Daniil Medvedev, the fourth seed, lost 6-4, 6-4 to Ignacio Buse of Peru. Alex de Minaur, the eighth seed, was beaten 7-6 (2), 6-3 by Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. And Frances Tiafoe, the seventh seed, lost 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (11-9) to Frenchman Quentin Halys after wasting four match points.

Tiafoe’s defeat had a big knock-on effect. It meant that Arthur Fils, the French world No. 7, was guaranteed a place at the ATP Finals. Fils becomes the first Frenchman to reach the season-ending event since Gael Monfils in 2016, which is a proud moment for French tennis.

Musetti, the man who beat Zverev, could not keep his run going. On Thursday he lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to Luca Van Assche, a 22-year-old Frenchman ranked 47th in the world, in the round of 16. Musetti had chances to win, including two break points at 4-3 in the final set, but he could not take them, and Van Assche held his nerve to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Van Assche’s run is one of the stories of the week. He had already saved nine of ten break points to beat 15th seed Learner Tien in an earlier round, and he has now beaten both Musetti and Hijikata to reach the semi-finals.

Another surprise package is Nuno Borges of Portugal, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser after another player withdrew. Borges became the first lucky loser in the tournament’s history to reach the quarter-finals, beating Karen Khachanov and Ignacio Buse along the way. He faced Casper Ruud in Friday’s evening quarter-final.

Even the defending champion was missing. Jannik Sinner, who won the title last year, withdrew before the tournament began because of a knee injury. With Sinner out, Zverev and Djokovic gone, and the draw wide open, the tournament has belonged to the underdogs.

What the upsets mean for the ATP Finals race

The Paris Masters is the final chance for players to earn ranking points before the ATP Finals, the season-ending event for the world’s top eight men, which runs from 15 to 22 November in Turin, Italy.

Before the tournament, only two places at the Finals were still undecided. The results in Paris have settled some of the questions and left others open until the very last matches.

Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Medvedev, Shelton, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils and Frances Tiafoe are all confirmed for Turin. Shelton’s win over Paul sealed Tiafoe’s place, and only one singles spot is still up for grabs.

Djokovic, De Minaur and Rafael Jodar have all seen their hopes ended in Paris. Taylor Fritz, who survived a scare to beat Alex Molcan in three sets earlier in the week, was still in the running as he prepared for his Friday evening quarter-final against Alcaraz.

Alcaraz, the second seed, is now the clear favourite to win the Paris title. The Spaniard, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, avoided the fate of his rivals by beating Alex Michelsen 7-6 (4), 6-3 in his opening match. With Zverev and Djokovic out, the draw has opened up for him, but Fritz, Shelton and the surprise semi-finalists will all believe they can stop him.

What happens next

The semi-finals take place on Saturday, with Shelton facing Van Assche in one match and the winners of the two remaining quarter-finals, Alcaraz against Fritz and Ruud against Borges, meeting in the other. The final is scheduled for Sunday, 8 November.

For Shelton, the week is already a success. He has reached his first Paris semi-final, confirmed his place at the ATP Finals, and shown that he can win the big matches when it matters. If he wins on Saturday, he will have a chance to add a third Masters 1000 title to the two he has already won.

For Zverev, the week has been a harsh reminder that reaching No. 1 and staying there are two different things. He will have time to reflect before the ATP Finals, where he will get the chance to show that his first match at the top was just a bad day.

And for Djokovic, the season is over. At 39, every defeat brings fresh questions about how much longer he will play. He has said nothing about retirement, and his plan, in his own words, is "just rest". Tennis fans will hope the rest does him good, because the sport is more interesting with him in it.

Whatever happens over the weekend, the 2026 Paris Masters will be remembered as the week the underdogs took over. A new world No. 1 lost his first match, a 24-time Grand Slam champion missed the Finals, and players ranked 24th, 47th and 83rd in the world stole the show. It is the kind of week that reminds us why sport is worth watching: because nobody can predict what will happen next.

Frequently asked questions

Who beat Alexander Zverev at the Paris Masters?

Lorenzo Musetti of Italy beat Zverev 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the second round on Wednesday, 4 November. It was Zverev’s first match since becoming world No. 1 on Monday, and he became the first player in history to lose in straight sets in his debut match as world No. 1.

Why did Novak Djokovic miss the ATP Finals?

Djokovic lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata in the second round. He needed to reach the semi-finals in Paris to qualify for the Finals in Turin. It is only the second time in 20 seasons that he has failed to qualify, the other being in 2017 because of an elbow injury.

Who reached the Paris Masters semi-finals?

Ben Shelton reached the semi-finals by beating Tommy Paul 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Friday. Luca Van Assche joined him by beating Rinky Hijikata in three sets. The other two semi-finalists were decided by the quarter-finals between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, and Casper Ruud and Nuno Borges.

When is the Paris Masters final?

The final is scheduled for Sunday, 8 November 2026, at the Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre. The ATP Finals in Turin then run from 15 to 22 November.

Who is the favourite to win the Paris Masters now?

Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed and seven-time Grand Slam champion, is the favourite after the exits of Zverev and Djokovic. But Ben Shelton, who has won both of his previous Masters 1000 finals, and the surprise semi-finalist Luca Van Assche will both fancy their chances.

Conclusion

The 2026 Paris Masters has been a tournament full of surprises. Ben Shelton’s win over Tommy Paul took him into his first Paris semi-final, while Alexander Zverev’s first match as world No. 1 ended in a straight-sets defeat to Lorenzo Musetti, and Novak Djokovic’s season ended with a loss to qualifier Rinky Hijikata that cost him a place at the ATP Finals. Underdogs like Luca Van Assche and Nuno Borges have made the most of their chances, and Arthur Fils has become the first Frenchman in a decade to reach the Finals. With the semi-finals on Saturday and the final on Sunday, there is still more to come, but this week in Paris has already given tennis fans plenty to remember.

Sources

• Reuters, "Zverev falls in first match as world number one; Djokovic’s ATP Finals hopes over", 4 November 2026 — https://bworldonline.com/sports/2026/11/05/791808/zverev-falls-in-first-match-as-world-number-one-djokovics-atp-finals-hopes-over/
• Sky Sports, "ATP Paris Masters: Novak Djokovic eliminated from ATP Finals race as world No 1 Alexander Zverev also suffers shock exit" — https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/13607999/atp-paris-masters-novak-djokovic-eliminated-from-atp-finals-race-as-world-no-1-alexander-zverev-also-suffers-shock-exit
• BBC (via The Conclave), "Djokovic Out Of ATP Finals Race After Paris Masters Defeat", 5 November 2026 — https://www.theconclaveng.com/djokovic-out-of-atp-finals-race-after-paris-masters-defeat/
• Tennis Majors, "Shelton beats Paul to reach his first Paris semi-final and send Tiafoe to Turin", 6 November 2026 — https://www.tennismajors.com/editorial-types/match-report?amp
• Tennis Majors, "Van Assche gets his Lyon revenge on Musetti to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final in Paris", 5 November 2026 — https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/rolex-paris-masters-1000-atp/ruud-holds-every-service-game-against-struff-to-set-up-borges-rematch-in-paris-865926.html
• Associated Press (via Europe Says), "No.1 Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic crash out of Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz advances", 5 November 2026 — https://www.europesays.com/tennis/98394/
• Wikipedia, "2026 Rolex Paris Masters – Singles" — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Rolex_Paris_Masters_%E2%80%93_Singles

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