Shelton ousts Alcaraz in latest US Open finish

Ben Shelton ended Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open title defense in the deepest hours of Wednesday morning, winning a five-set quarter-final that became the latest-finishing match in tournament history and set up an all-American semifinal against Frances Tiafoe.

Shelton beat Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in 4 hours, 28 minutes, closing the match with a 146 mph serve out wide that Alcaraz could not return. CBS reported the match ended at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The result snapped Alcaraz’s 18-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments. It also denied him another US Open run after his 2022 title, which came during a tournament that included the previous latest finish in event history: his quarter-final win over Jannik Sinner, which ended at 2:50 a.m.

Shelton, who reached the semifinals at the 2023 US Open and the 2025 Australian Open, advanced to his third major semifinal. He will face No. 11 seed Tiafoe on Friday after Tiafoe rallied past Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6) to reach his third US Open semifinal. The winner will put an American man in Sunday’s final as the United States seeks its first men’s major title since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.

“It’s incredible,” Shelton said on court, according to CBS. “I always say that this is the greatest sports city in the world, I say that this is the greatest stadium in the world. I’m just hoping that my best friend and my sister over there don’t have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours.”

Thousands of fans stayed until the end, CBS reported, and Shelton drew loud support in Arthur Ashe Stadium, including chants of his name and “USA! USA!”

Shelton later described the match as exhausting and memorable. “I’m tired,” he told reporters in the stadium, according to The Guardian. “That was a war, epic match. I mean, so physical. Carlos, one of the greatest champions in our sport already at 23 years old. It’s always fun being on the court against him. It’s ridiculous, the amount of stuff he comes up with sometimes, but the most enjoyable match that I’ve had in my career, for sure.”

Alcaraz took a 70-minute opening set in a tiebreak, but Shelton said breaking Alcaraz late in that set gave him confidence despite losing it. “I knew that my serve was only going to get better, and if I’d already dialed in the return to the point that I could break him, I thought my chances were good to get that second set,” he said.

Shelton then broke Alcaraz three times in a lopsided second set and won nine straight games from early in the second set to a 3-0 lead in the third, according to CBS. Alcaraz responded by dominating the fourth set 6-1, breaking Shelton three times, and then held firm in a deciding set in which neither player broke serve.

Alcaraz, playing his first tournament since April after returning from a right wrist injury, vomited before the final set, CBS reported. He still surged ahead 5-3 in the match tiebreak by winning four straight points, but Shelton recovered behind his serve and Alcaraz errors.

Shelton won 70% of his first-serve points and 57% on second serve, with 54 of his 156 serves going unreturned, according to The Guardian. Alcaraz finished with 38 winners to Shelton’s 34, but made 53 unforced errors to Shelton’s 35. Shelton won 55% of rallies lasting four shots or fewer, while Alcaraz had the edge in longer exchanges.

Afterward, Shelton said communication with his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, helped him through the long night. “For us, it was just enjoyable to be a part of that match,” he said. “Obviously, the level of tennis, how long the match was going, the fight that it was, how even the match was back and forth throughout. I think that’s something that we can appreciate. Win or lose, have a smile on our face.”