Ben Shelton defeated seven-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) early Wednesday morning at the US Open, in a quarterfinal match that lasted four hours and 28 minutes and became the longest in the tournament’s history.
The match ended at 3:33 a.m. in New York, with the clock passing the 2:50 a.m. mark to set the new record for length at the Grand Slam event.
The win sends Shelton into the US Open semifinal for the second consecutive year. He is now guaranteed a spot for the United States in Sunday’s final, and will face fellow American Francis Tiafoe on Friday in the semifinals.
No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero at the 2003 US Open.
Shelton credited the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium for carrying him through the late-night contest.
“It’s always about the people in the crowd, whether it’s my coaches and my team over there, all my family and friends over here, or the city of New York,” Shelton said during his on-court interview following the match. “They showed up tonight till 3 a.m. with USA chats until the very end, that’s what kept me going, and that’s what got me this win tonight. I’m just hoping my best friend and my sister over there don’t have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours.”
The victory also snapped Alcaraz’s 18-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments. Alcaraz pushed Shelton at several critical points during the match, but committed 53 unforced errors, which proved decisive.
Shelton’s serve was again a key weapon, producing seven aces against just two double faults over the five sets. The win marked Shelton’s first career victory over Alcaraz, who had previously held a 3-0 record against him, most recently beating Shelton at Roland Garros in 2025.
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