FINAL: Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3 Taylor Fritz
Carlos Alcaraz saved two match points to beat Taylor Fritz 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3 in the Paris Masters quarter-finals yesterday, Friday, November 6, 2026. Fritz stood one point from the match at 5-3 and again at 5-4 in the second set, and either point would have taken the last Nitto ATP Finals place for himself. The full story of the match itself is in iimiTV’s breaking report on Alcaraz saving match points to send Jodar to Turin.
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Saturday brought the morning after: Rafael Jodar spoke for the first time about the place that result handed him, Alcaraz’s first words at the net were for the man he had beaten, and Turin confirmed what happens next, from the draw date to the two alternates travelling in reserve.
How to watch: Carlos Alcaraz vs Casper Ruud, Paris Masters semi-final, Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Plenitude Arena, Nanterre
TV (Canada): TSN
Stream: TSN, Tennis TV
Rafael Jodar Reacts To His ATP Finals Place
Jodar, who watched Friday night from off court after losing to Casper Ruud in the second round on Tuesday, reacted in a video on ATPTour.com reported by Tennis365: “I’m aware that I’ve had a great year. Very happy with how the season is going for me. I’ve improved a lot. I played against many top players. I think my mindset of not giving up and giving everything in every match has helped me to qualify for Turin. I’ll have to keep working hard and keep trusting myself with the same ambition as I’ve had this first year.”
Overnight the record behind the place gained one more line. Jodar broke into the top 10 for the first time this week, 287 days after playing his first tour-level match on January 19, a top 10 debut speed no player has matched on the way to a first ATP Finals. He arrives in Turin as the first man to qualify for the season finale in the same year he made his tour-level debut, and as the youngest man in the eight-man field at 20, in a season that carried a first title in Marrakech in April, a Roland Garros quarter-final and a first Masters 1000 final in Shanghai.
Alcaraz Apologised To Fritz At The Net
Alcaraz knew exactly what his comeback had cost the other side of the net. He apologised to Fritz as they shook hands, in the Express report of the exchange: “I’m sorry man. I’m so sorry,” Alcaraz was heard saying. “Nah, you were too good,” Fritz replied. Alcaraz then wrote on the courtside camera, “Semis, you feel really good, love you Paris,” before telling Sky Sports what the night had given him. “What I got from today was unmatched,” he said. “I am happy to give myself another chance to step on the court tomorrow.”
Tennis TV’s official highlights of the quarter-final, the seventh time in Alcaraz’s career he has won a match after saving match points, show the two points the whole Turin race turned on:
The night ran long for both semi-finalists. Alcaraz’s match ended just before 11 p.m. in Paris, and his recovery work at the hotel, physio included, ran to 3 a.m. before Saturday’s semi-final. Ruud’s quarter-final started only after Alcaraz and Fritz had finished, and ended close to 1 a.m.
Turin Draw Set, Alternates Named, Fitness Watched
Turin now has its next fixed date. The group draw takes place on Thursday, November 12 at 12:45 p.m. CET, splitting the eight singles players into the John McEnroe Group and the Ivan Lendl Group, before the Finals run from November 15 to 22 at the Inalpi Arena. The field is Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils, Frances Tiafoe and Jodar, with Jannik Sinner, second in the Race, out for the season.
The two men who just missed out still travel. Alex de Minaur, 10th in the Race on 3,170 points, and Fritz, 11th on 3,050, go to Turin as the alternates, per the ATP media notes reported by Tennis Majors, and either plays if a qualifier withdraws before or during the event. The same report notes why that is more than a formality: Cobolli played no match in Paris after withdrawing with a left leg injury, and Fils had retired against Fritz in Basel the week before, so neither man’s fitness is yet guaranteed for Turin. The Stockholm Open, played November 8 to 14, is the last event before Turin and cannot change the Race order.
Alcaraz Faces Ruud In The Paris Semi-Final
First, Paris finishes. Alcaraz faces Ruud in Saturday’s semi-final after the Norwegian beat lucky loser Nuno Borges 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the last quarter-final of the night. Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 6-1, and Ruud’s only win came in the round robin of the 2024 ATP Finals, the same stage the two could meet on again in Turin next week. The other semi-final pairs Shelton with Luca Van Assche, and the final is scheduled for Sunday, November 8.
Casper Ruud, pictured at Basel in 2025, beat Rafael Jodar in Paris on Tuesday and now stands between Alcaraz and a first Paris Masters final. Photo: Peter Arnold, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Tennis TV’s official quarter-finals highlights package carries the rest of Friday’s card, including Ruud closing out Borges and Shelton’s win over Tommy Paul that had already sent Tiafoe to Turin earlier in the day:
By tonight, Paris will have its finalists. Turin, though, is the story that settled overnight: a 20-year-old who started January at No. 168 is in the season finale in his first year on tour, the draw is set for Thursday, and the two men he beat to the last place will be in the building anyway, rackets ready, waiting on somebody else’s misfortune.
