Third seed Ben Shelton of the United States came from a set down to beat Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in a final-set tie-break thriller on Court Central on Thursday and reach the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters. He will face fellow American Tommy Paul, who beat Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4 earlier in the day.

Shelton took his revenge on Rinderknech, who had beaten him 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) at Queen’s in 2025 in their only previous meeting, the Frenchman’s first win over a top-10 player. The American is the first player from his country to reach back-to-back quarter-finals in Paris since Jack Sock (2016-18), according to the ATP.

It is his eighth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and his second of the season, after he won Montreal without dropping a set. It is also his 43rd win of 2026, a personal best for a season. In the Race to Turin, where he is already qualified, the win takes Shelton to 4,720 points.

Shelton faces Paul next in Paris

He and Paul are level at 2-2 in their head-to-head. Shelton won their meetings at the 2023 US Open and in Tokyo the same year, and Paul won the most recent one, 6-2, 6-4 in the Dallas semi-finals in 2024.

Rinderknech’s week ends at the last-16 stage

Rinderknech had beaten Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 3-6, 7-6 (2), 2-0, ret., and Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 6-4, 6-1 earlier in the week. The 31-year-old was chasing a second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final after his run to the Shanghai final last year. He is now 0-7 against top-10 players in 2026.

Rolex Paris Masters 2026 third-round results

Lorenzo Musetti vs Luca Van Assche (Thursday)
Rinky Hijikata (Q) vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Thursday)
Ben Shelton (3) d. Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Tommy Paul (12) d. Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4
Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) vs Casper Ruud (Thursday)
Nuno Borges (LL) vs Ignacio Buse (Thursday)
Arthur Fils (6) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Thursday)
Carlos Alcaraz (2) d. Matteo Berrettini, walkover