Alcaraz beats Fritz to reach Paris semifinal, end Finals hopes

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3 in the Paris Masters quarterfinal on Friday, saving two match points and ending Fritz’s chance to qualify for the ATP Finals through the tournament. The victory sent Alcaraz to his first semifinal at the Paris event, while Rafael Jodar secured the eighth and final place in the season-ending field. Fritz needed to beat Alcaraz to stay in contention for Turin. Before the match, he was 184 points behind Jodar in the race, and a victory would have put him ahead. His defeat left him out of contention and confirmed Jodar’s qualification. The ATP Finals lineup was complete after the quarterfinal result. The match swung after Fritz took a tense opening-set tiebreak 12-10. He moved ahead 5-3 in the second set and had two opportunities to close out the match, but Alcaraz saved both. The Spaniard then broke Fritz’s serve and won the set 7-5, forcing a decider. Alcaraz took control in the third set to complete the comeback. Alcaraz advanced to face either Casper Ruud or Nuno Borges in Saturday’s semifinal. The result also marked a second occasion on which Alcaraz had beaten Fritz after facing match point; the earlier match was at the...