Paris, Nov 1 (IANS) Jannik Sinner moved one step closer to reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking with a commanding victory over Ben Shelton at the Paris Masters.

Carlos Alcaraz’s surprise second-round loss to Cameron Norrie has opened the door for the Italian, who can leapfrog the Spaniard by capturing the ATP Masters 1000 title in the French capital.

Sinner booked his place in the Paris semi-finals for the first time with a 6-3, 6-3 win – his seventh consecutive triumph over Shelton. The 24-year-old will now take on third seed Alexander Zverev, after the defending champion saved two match points to edge Daniil Medvedev in a gripping three-set battle.

“I’m very happy. It was a very, very tough match. At times you don’t have a lot of control because of his incredible serving, but today I felt like I was returning very well. Also, from the back of the court I played very solid and very aggressive,” Sinner told Sky Sports.

Sinner briefly surrendered his serve midway through the second set but quickly regained control, sealing his win over 23-year-old Shelton in less just 70 minutes.

“At the moment I’m not thinking about the ranking,” added the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion. “It’s a consequence of how I’m playing.”

“Making the semis here in Paris means a lot. It has been a very long season with some great, great results and I never take these results for granted.”

Sinner will meet Zverev in the semi-finals after the German mounted a comeback to defeat Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

Alexander Bublik advanced to his first-ever Masters semi-final with a hard-fought 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-5 victory over Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur, sparking emotional celebrations from Kazakhstan’s top player.

The 13th seed will next take on Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who cruised past Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot 6-2, 6-2 to book his place in the final four.

–IANS

ab/