By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, October 30, 2025
Photo: Geoff Robins/Tennis Canada/National Bank Open Facebook
Running left, Ben Shelton laser a backhand shot that scorched the back end of the baseline to seal the first set.
That thunder in Paris echoed as far as Turin.
The 23-year-old Shelton paused Andrey Rublev 7-6(6), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters and earn his place at the year-end ATP Finals in Turin.
It’s Shelton’s 40th win of the season – his second consecutive 40-win season – and seals his place as the sixth player to qualify for the eight-man ATP Finals field. Shelton joins Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, whose status for Turin is uncertain, and compatriot Taylor Fritz in qualifying for the ATP Finals, set at Inalpi Arena, Nov. 9-16.
Today, Shelton served 74 percent, hit 15 aces against no double faults and played perhaps his most complete match since winning the Toronto National Bank Open title in August, highlighted by that brilliant run to seal the opening set.
How to 🔒 lower a set, from @BenShelton #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/cefnyKE33X
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 30, 2025
Seventh-ranked Shelton improved to 40-20 on the season. Shelton is the fourth American to reach four ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals since the start of the 2010 season, joining Andy Roddick in 2010, John Isner in 2015 and Fritz in 2023.
The win moves Shelton into the quarterfinals against reigning ATP Finals champion Sinner or Francisco Cerundolo.
