Carlos Alcaraz refused to let the Paris quarterfinals slip away.

The second seed saved two match points and beat Taylor Fritz 6-7 (10) 7-5 6-3 on Friday night at the Rolex Paris Masters to reach the semifinals for the first time.

The comeback lasted two hours and 45 minutes on Court Central after Fritz took a tense first-set tiebreak.

Match points erased

Trailing 3-5 in the second set Alcaraz saved one match point on his own serve then ripped a forehand passing shot to erase another on Fritz's serve. He broke back to 5-5 and forced a decider.

"I tried to stay strong mentally and save those break points and match points" Alcaraz said. "The feeling I have today is unmatched."

Turin ripple

By denying Fritz the win Alcaraz ended the American's ATP Finals hopes and confirmed Spaniard Rafael Jodar as the eighth and final qualifier for Turin. Fritz leaves Paris 11th in the live race.

Alcaraz next faces Casper Ruud or Nuno Borges. He has won seven straight matches after lifting the Vienna title last week and now leads Fritz 7-1 in their head-to-head.