World No. 2 Jannik Sinner continued his impressive run at the Rolex Paris Masters, marking his 400th career tour-level match with a straight-sets victory over American Ben Shelton on Friday.
The Italian star powered past Shelton 6-3, 6-3 in a clinical quarterfinal performance to move one step closer to reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking from Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.
With Alcaraz suffering an early exit in Paris, Sinner now has the opportunity to return to the top of the ATP rankings if he captures the ATP Masters 1000 title, which would be the first of his career in 2025.
Sinner’s efficiency on serve proved decisive: he won 80% of his first-serve points (24 of 30) and 80% on his second serve (8 of 10), while also dominating Shelton’s second delivery, claiming 12 of 17 points (70.6%) on return.
“It was a very tough match. At times against Ben, you don’t have a lot of control because of his incredible serving, but today I felt like I was returning very well,” Sinner said. “Also from the back of the court, I played very solid and also very aggressive, so I’m very happy about today’s match.”
Despite Shelton’s strong form this season—highlighted by his recent qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals—Sinner’s composure and consistency ensured the American had few chances to mount a comeback.
Sinner now advances to the semifinals of the Paris Masters tennis tournament, maintaining his bid to end the year as world No. 1 and cap off a stellar 2025 campaign.
