Alcaraz was untouchable on the serve. He won all ten of his service games, faced no break points and won 31 of his 36 first-serve points (86 percent). He went 27 to Rudy’s 14 and won nine of his 11 points at the net.
“I think I served, if not the best, one of the best days I’ve served, and it made me feel more comfortable on the court,” Alcaraz said on court. “I’m really proud and really happy about it. It was really hard. He played pretty well inside, served pretty well, moved well. You don’t find the window easily, you have to earn every point, so I had to focus on my game and play really, really well.”
One break in one set was enough. Rood saved break points at 1-1 and 2-2, but Alcaraz broke for 3-3 after a long deuce game, then served to take the set to love. The Norwegian held to 4-4 in the second set when Alcaraz broke 0-40. He served it up for 40-0, finishing with an ace.
Rudd, seeking his second final of the season since Rome, won just 46 percent of his second serve points and committed three double faults. He is now 1-7 against Alcaraz against them. His only win came at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, and Alcaraz has won all three of their meetings: in Tokyo in 2025, this year in Indian Wells and now in Paris.
Two game points to the final
The contrast with his quarter-final could hardly be greater. Alcaraz had to save two game points on Friday Taylor Fritz won 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3. Against Roode, he was never threatened.
It is his 38th career final and 11th at the Masters 1000 level. He is the fourth Spaniard to reach the Paris final, after Sergio Casal in 1986, Rafael Nadal in 2007 and David Ferrer in 2012 and 2013. It’s also his sixth final of the season, tied with Yannick Sinner and Shelton, and eighth in a row since the title in Vienna.
Alcaraz. “I’m fresh, I’m hungry”
Paris has been resisting him for a long time at this stage of the season. “I feel probably fresher than I used to feel at the end of the season,” Alcaraz said. “This year was a little different from the previous ones. I had more time to recover at home, so I was hungry to get back on tour as soon as possible. I said at the start of the week that sooner or later I would do well in this tournament, so I’m really happy that I did well this week.”
“I’m fresh, I’m hungry, I’m ambitious to go further, to go further,” he added. “Tomorrow I will step on the court doing everything to take the trophy home. I’m excited and can’t wait.”
He has not forgotten New York. “The last time I played him, at the US Open, in the heat, it was pretty tough physically, pretty tough mentally,” he said. “I’m ready. I’ll try to do a little better than I did in that game. I have watched his matches, his level is quite high now, he has a lot of confidence. His serve is going to be really hard to come back, but I’ll try whatever it takes. I’m sure it will be fun to watch and I’ll enjoy every second of it.”
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 semi-final results
Carlos Alcaraz (2) d. Casper Rudd 6-4, 6-4
Ben Shelton (3) d. Luca Van Assche 5-7, 6-3, 6-4