Benjamin Todd Shelton beat Luca Van Assche 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the Paris Masters semifinal. The third-seeded American came through the Frenchman's first-ever Masters 1000 semifinal appearance to reach his third final at this level.
Van Assche made the stronger start
Luca Van Assche stepped onto the Plenitude Arena court in front of 17,500 fans as the home favourite and played with confidence from the baseline from the outset. The Frenchman converted the only break of the opening set at 5-5 and served it out 7-5. It was Van Assche's first semifinal at a Masters 1000 event.
The 22-year-old had worked his way into this round as an unseeded player ranked 47th in the world, having climbed more than 130 places in the twelve months leading up to the tournament. Against Shelton, too, he demonstrated exactly why his rise toward the top of the game had been so rapid.
Shelton responded with aggressive returning
Benjamin Todd Shelton raised his tempo in the second set, putting Van Assche under pressure with aggressive returns. The break for 4-2 set up the levelling of the match, and the American took the set 6-3. It was further confirmation of his strong form in Paris, having won every match before the semifinal without dropping a set.
The match statistics underlined his firepower: Shelton fired 19 aces and 44 winners, and won 88 percent of his service games. Van Assche contributed nine aces of his own but was hampered by five double faults.
The decisive phase in the third set
In the third set Van Assche initially moved into a 3-1 lead. Shelton, however, remained dangerous on return and found his way back into the match. At 3-4 down, Van Assche saved three break points — one with a serve-and-forehand combination, another with an ace.
The fourth break point proved decisive. A forehand volley into the net, a double fault and a wayward forehand opened the door for Shelton, who seized the break and took control of the set.
Van Assche held firm at 4-5 with an ace and staved off the first match point with a deep forehand return. Shelton converted the second with a serve followed by a precise forehand winner down the line. After 2 hours and 16 minutes, his place in the final was confirmed.
Shelton reaches his third Masters 1000 final
The victory was another landmark in a season that has established Shelton as one of the form players on tour. His coach is his father Bryan Shelton, a former professional tennis player. The Paris final is his third Masters 1000 decider and his first outside Canada.
Van Assche bowed out with his head held high after an impressive home run. The two players had never previously met on the ATP Tour, with Shelton taking their first encounter in an eventful but high-quality semifinal.
