New York — Ben Shelton brought Carlos Alcaraz’s U.S. Open title defense to a dramatic halt in the tournament’s latest finish ever, edging the Spaniard 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) after a grueling battle that finally ended at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday.
The five-set showdown stretched 4 hours, 28 minutes, and snapped Alcaraz’s 18-match winning streak at Grand Slam events.
Shelton now moves on to face No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe, who staged his own stirring comeback Tuesday to reach a third U.S. Open semifinal, rallying past Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6).
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With Shelton and Tiafoe set to meet, the United States is assured of a finalist on Sunday as American men continue their pursuit of a first major championship since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.
Alcaraz had also been part of the previous record for the latest U.S. Open finish, defeating Jannik Sinner in a 2022 quarterfinal that wrapped at 2:50 a.m. before he went on to claim his first Grand Slam crown at age 19.
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Thousands of fans stayed to the end and Shelton benefited from a home-crowd boost even against the popular Alcaraz, with fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium chanting his name along with “USA! USA!”
“It’s incredible,” Shelton said. “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.”
Three of the four singles quarterfinals went to match tiebreakers on a marathon day, which started with Aryna Sabalenka edging Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova to keep her hopes alive of a third straight U.S. Open title.
Alcaraz will have to wait for his next one.
Instead it was Shelton reaching his third major semifinal, having gotten to the final four in the 2023 U.S. Open and 2025 Australian Open.
He seized control by winning nine straight games from early in the second set until he had a 3-0 lead in the third. But Alcaraz, in his first tournament since April after returning from a right wrist injury, battled back even as he vomited before the start of the final set.
Alcaraz ran off four straight points in the tiebreaker to go ahead 5-3, but Shelton came back behind some of his powerful serves that can exceed 140 mph, along with some mistakes from Alcaraz. Shelton eventually finished it off with a 146 mph serve his opponent couldn’t get back.
Alcaraz is now 15-2 in five-set matches. He won his seventh Grand Slam title at the Australian Open to start this year not long before his injury.