Arya News - Ben Shelton will face Frances Tiafoe in the semifinal, after the biggest win of his career.
The US Open men"s final is guaranteed to feature a single American, courtesy of the biggest win, and latest night, of Ben Shelton"s career.
In the final hour of Tuesday and the early hours of Wednesday, the No. 8 seed defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 in a Match of the Year candidate between two of the sport"s young stars.
With the final shot landing at 3:33 a.m., the four-and-a-half match featured the latest ending in US Open history, surpassing Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner"s legendary clash in the 2022 quarterfinals (2:50 a.m.). The match ended so late that the cleaners started working inside Ashe in the fifth set .
Shelton"s reward will be an All-American match against No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe in the semifinal on Friday. Whoever wins will become only the second American man to reach the US Open in final in the past two decades (Taylor Fritz, 2024), looking to end a Grand Slam drought that goes back to Andy Roddick"s US Open title in 2003.
Shelton did it against a seven-time Grand Slam champion who, to be fair, was also playing his first tournament in more than four months. Alcaraz had little trouble reaching the quarterfinals, dropping only one set in four matches, but Shelton always represented a different difficulty level, against whom Alcaraz would have to be fully functional.
Entering the match, Alcaraz was 14-0 in Grand Slams again Americans and 13-0 against left-handers. He had won 12 straight five-set matches and 18 overall. Shelton ended all of those streaks, picking up his first career Grand Slam win over a top 5 player in the process.
Carlos Alcaraz-Ben Shelton lived up to the hype, for those who stayed up
From the moment the draw was revealed, this particular quarterfinal matchup was tantalizing for tennis fans. The pair are two of the hardest-hitting, quickest-moving, loudest-shouting, all-court players on tour. Entertainers, in addition to being elite tennis players at 23 years old.
It was the perfect showcase for modern tennis, so naturally the US Open"s comically flawed schedule forced them to begin the proceedings around 11 p.m. local time. The first three matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium were all thrillers that went the distance, so fans at least got their money"s worth.
Alcaraz-Shelton was worth staying up for. There was Shelton unleashing serves up to 150 mph and throwing down jumping volleys. There was Alcaraz was reaching balls no other player is capable of touching. One such point:
OK, here"s another:
The match began on even footing, with the pair staying on serve in the first set until it was 5-5, at which point they exchanged breaks to force a tiebreaker. Shelton led that at 5-3, only for Alcaraz to roar back with four straight points won.
Alcaraz started the second set with a 14-point hold then similarly pushed Shelton"s subsequent service game, but it was after that point something seemed to give.
There are plenty of possible explanations for why Alcaraz lost the next nine consecutive games. He could have felt something in his wrist and become more tentative. He could have tweaked something on an awkward jumping volley in that Shelton service game. He could have finally felt the exhaustion of playing his best opponent since losing to Jannik Sinner at Monte Carlo on April 12. He could have been saving energy for what was clearly to come.
Whatever happened, Alcaraz didn"t move the way he usually does and committed an inordinate amount of unforced errors with a forehand that is usually among the best in tennis. He was a full step behind Shelton for a set and a half, only making things competitive in a third set where he couldn"t get the necessary break to take back momentum.
There were still fun points, though:
It was a career-best effort by Shelton, who also showed a more reserved demeanor as the match went on and the possibility of an upset became more real. Shelton has always run hot and cold as a player, sometimes to his detriment, but his only reaction to his third-set win was a satisfied stare at his coach"s box .
Alcaraz, of course, started feeling better, or at least started performing better. He got a break on his first opportunity in the fourth set and pressed that advantage into forcing the fifth set.
Along the way, he was seen heaving into his towel on a changeover . That was also around the time ESPN cameras caught new USTA president Craig Tiley appearing on the verge of falling asleep because, again, these guys were playing a match at an hour and length that would match a cross-country red-eye flight.
As the clock reached and then passed 3 a.m., the two men locked in for the most intense set of the match. Both faced break points in the fifth set, both saved them all. Shelton started emptying his emotional tank while Alcaraz looked increasingly at home, powered by the adrenaline that has made him nearly unbeatable in five-set matches.
It all came down to that final, 10-point tiebreaker. Shelton got it done, ending it all with a 146 mph ace.