Shelton ends Alcaraz title defence in US Open thriller

Ben Shelton stunned defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a dramatic five-set US Open quarter-final that ended at 3:33 a.m. The American snapped Alcaraz’s 18-match Grand Slam winning streak and advanced to the semi-finals, where he will face Frances Tiafoe

New Delhi: Ben Shelton on Wednesday upset defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7) in an entertaining US Open quarter-final clash to earn one of the most thrilling wins of his career.

Shelton snapped the Spaniard’s 18-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments with the biggest triumph of his career in a four-hour, 28-minute match. It was the latest finish in US Open history, with Shelton firing the clinching 146-mph ace at 3:33 a.m.

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The previous record also involved Alcaraz, who exactly two years ago saved a match point to edge Jannik Sinner in five sets in the quarter-finals, with their match finishing at 2:50 a.m. in New York.

Shelton, who claimed his second ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal, has now upset defending champion Alcaraz in New York to advance to the last four at the hard-court major for the first time since 2023.

Alcaraz was playing his first tournament following a four-month injury layoff but had dropped just one set on his way to the quarter-finals before Shelton ended his title defence.

The Spaniard was chasing his eighth Grand Slam title and seeking to become the first man since Roger Federer to defend his US Open crown.

Alcaraz entered the quarter-final clash on an 18-match winning streak at the majors, a personal-best mark that included his 2025 US Open win and his title run at this year’s Australian Open, with which he became the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Shelton will next take on 11th seed Frances Tiafoe in the last four, with both players aiming to reach their first Grand Slam final. Shelton leads 3-1 in his rivalry with Tiafoe.

Two of the pair’s four meetings have taken place on the hard courts in Flushing Meadows, with Shelton winning their quarter-final meeting in 2023 before Tiafoe won their third-round clash in 2024.