Carlos Alcaraz Garfia reached the Paris Masters final for the first time. The second-seeded Spaniard defeated Casper Ruud in the semifinal 6-4, 6-4, never showing any significant vulnerability on his own serve. For both players, the last four in Paris was uncharted territory.
Alcaraz pulls away in the first set
Casper Ruud fended off several break points at 1-1 and 2-2 to keep the match competitive in the early stages. At 3-3, an extended deuce game proved decisive, with Carlos Alcaraz Garfia eventually landing the crucial break. The Spaniard then closed out the set with a bagel hold. The first set went to Carlos Alcaraz Garfia 6-4.
Decisive break seals the match
In the second set, Casper Ruud held his serve through to 4-4. At that point, Carlos Alcaraz Garfia created the decisive opportunity at 0-40 and converted it for the break. Ruud had no response from there. Alcaraz closed out the match with a serve winner — an ace — on his second match point. The second set also went to Carlos Alcaraz Garfia 6-4.
Commanding serving display from Alcaraz
The match statistics underlined the Spaniard's clear superiority. Carlos Alcaraz Garfia held every service game and did not concede a single break point throughout the match. He won 86 per cent of first-serve points and took 57 per cent of total points. Casper Ruud, by contrast, failed to convert any of his break points.
Alcaraz struck seven aces and 27 winners, while Ruud managed 14 winners. The Spaniard also committed zero double faults and made 21 unforced errors — a noticeably cleaner display following his dramatic three-set battle against Taylor Fritz the previous day.
First final in Paris
Casper Ruud had reached the semifinal via a win over lucky loser Nuno Borges. The Norwegian, ranked 23rd in the world, nonetheless surpassed his previous best result in Paris. Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, meanwhile, secured his first final appearance at this tournament and extended his head-to-head record against Ruud: heading into the semifinal, he had won six of their seven previous meetings.
