Shelton, already qualified, now leads 3-2.
How Shelton beat Paul in three sets
Shelton dropped serve just once in the second set and broke Paul once in the other two. She served 11 aces to Paul’s five and hit 82 percent of her first serves.
The rallies were short-lived. 42 percent of scores lasted one shot or less, and only five of 154 scores—3 percent—exceeded nine shots.
The world No. 4 won 35, Pauline 21, 22 on 21 unforced errors and won 10 of her 11 points at the net. He converted two of his four break points and faced only one.
Shelton is one win away from the Paris final
This is Shelton’s third ATP Masters 1000 semifinal. He won the title twice before, in 2025 in Toronto and in 2026 in Montreal.
Shelton beat Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match, then came from a set down to beat France’s Arthur Rinderknecht 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the last 16. He reached the quarter-finals in Paris last year.
Paul had beaten the 2022 champion Holger Ruhn 7-5, 6-4Daniel Merida, 6-1, 6-1 and Quentin Hallis, 7-6 (3), 6-4. His quarter-final finish equaled his best finish since 2022 in Paris.
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 quarter-final results
Luca Van Assche vs Rinki Hijikata (Q) (Friday)
Ben Shelton (3) d. Tommy Paul (12) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Casper Rood vs Nuno Borges (LL) (Friday)
Taylor Fritz (11) vs Carlos Alcaraz (2) (Friday)
In bold. today’s results.