Alcaraz saves two match points to beat Fritz and reach the Paris semis

Carlos Alcaraz does not do things the easy way. On Friday night in Paris, the Spaniard saved two match points to beat Taylor Fritz 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-3 and reach the semi-finals of the Paris Masters, the last Masters 1000 event of the season.

It was a first for him. Alcaraz had never made it past the quarter-finals in Paris, and this time he broke through that ceiling after a long, demanding match against the American, 29 and ranked 12th in the world.

He lost a tight first-set tiebreak, then turned the match around with an inventive, almost impossible shot that changed the mood on court. From there he took control and wore Fritz down.

There is a bonus for a compatriot, too. Alcaraz's win, together with Shelton's result, secures a place at the ATP Finals in Turin for Rafa Jódar, the young Spaniard who has been one of the tour's breakthrough names this year.

In the semi-final, Alcaraz will face either Casper Ruud or Joao Fonseca's compatriot Borges, depending on the other quarter-final.