Carlos Alcaraz walked the tightrope in Paris and Taylor Fritz paid for it twice over. The Spaniard saved two match points in a marathon Paris Masters quarter-final to beat Fritz and reach the last four — a result with brutal knock-on consequences for the American.

Fritz needed the win to claim the final spot at the ATP Finals in Turin later this month. Instead, his defeat ended that chase and, in a twist, qualified Alcaraz's Spanish compatriot Rafael Jodar for the season-ending event — Alcaraz effectively punching a countryman's ticket by refusing to lose his own match.

For Fritz, the sting is in the margins: two match points on his racket against the world's best, and neither converted. Squandered chances against Alcaraz rarely come back around, and this one cost him a place among the elite eight.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, moves on in Paris with his trademark escape act intact — and Jodar heads to Turin owing his compatriot a very nice dinner.