Carlos Alcaraz avenged his loss to ⁠Ben Shelton in the US Open last eight as he edged the American 7-6 (5), 7-5 to win the Paris Masters ⁠on Sunday, clinching ⁠his ninth ​ATP 1000 title.

The world No 3 controlled the contest from the baseline to become the first Spaniard to win the ⁠tournament since David Ferrer in 2012, while Shelton was left frustrated by an erratic forehand.

“Today, it was one of the toughest challenges we ⁠have in tennis right now, facing Ben Shelton,” said Alcaraz, whose US Open title ​defence was derailed by the eventual finalist ‌Shelton in a four-and-a-half-hour ‌thriller in September. “He is doing better and better with every tournament so it’s going ‌to be even tougher facing him. So I’m just really happy that I found the way.“

The first set remained deadlocked until the tie-break, where Shelton overshot the baseline three times on his forehand, allowing the Spaniard to take the set.…