clawed back from a set down to defeat France’s Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), earning a personal season-best 43rd match win and securing his spot in the Paris Masters quarterfinals.
The U.S. Open runner-up will face 12th seed Tommy Paul in an all-American quarterfinal. The upcoming match marks their fifth head-to-head meeting, with their series currently tied at two wins apiece, and their first on-court battle since 2024.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the court, but I’m looking forward to it,” Shelton said. “He’s in great form right now. A great player, a great friend.”
Paul booked his place in the last eight earlier in the day by overcoming Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4 in their third-round encounter, keeping his faint hopes alive of claiming one of the final two berths for the ATP Finals in Turin from November 15-22.
“I’ve been rooting for him all year to make a push and make it to Turin,” said Shelton, who has already secured his spot alongside five other qualified players. “It will be fireworks tomorrow.”
Carlos Alcaraz advances after injury withdrawal
Second seed moved safely into the quarterfinals after Matteo Berrettini was forced to pull out ahead of their third-round fixture due to an arm issue. The hard-hitting Italian did not clarify which arm was affected, though he shared via Instagram that he had been managing pain for several days.
Alcaraz will face the winner of Thursday’s late match between 11th seed Taylor Fritz, who is also chasing an ATP Finals berth, and French sixth seed . A defeat for Fritz would guarantee an ATP Finals spot for fellow American Frances Tiafoe.
Home fans had plenty to celebrate prior to Fils taking the court, as Luca Van Assche shocked Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to reach his debut Masters quarterfinal.
Ranked 47th globally, Van Assche put the match away with a crisp net volley on his very first match point against Musetti, a player who has reached at least the quarterfinal stage across all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Elsewhere, qualifier Rinky Hijikata followed up his massive second-round upset over Novak Djokovic by battling past Tomas Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, setting up a quarterfinal meeting against Van Assche.