From behind the baseline in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the clocks had already crept past 2:50am. Wednesday had arrived. For many, it was a school day. Dawn was not far away. Yet, roared on by several thousand New Yorkers — some boozy, some dozing, others simply swept up in the madness — Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton pushed the US Open into territory it had never seen before.
No match at this tournament had ever ended so late. Rarely, if ever, had these two produced anything quite like this. After nearly four hours and four and a half sets of wildly shifting momentum, this quarterfinal still refused to reach its conclusion.
It was draining, gripping and, for Alcaraz, visibly brutal. Before the deciding set began, the defending champion appeared to be sick into his towel. Still, the contest rumbled on, refusing to break until there was only one place left to go: a fifth-set tiebreak.
Finally, at 3:33am and after four hours and 28 minutes, Shelton brought the chaos to an end. He launched a 146mph ace, stuck out his tongue, wrapped Alcaraz in a long embrace and then, at last, stood still long enough to absorb the biggest win of his young career.
The scoreline — 6-7 6-1 6-3 1-6 7-6 — captured the wild rhythm of the night. As New York moved from darkness toward morning, the match lurched one way and then the other between two of tennis’s most explosive talents. In the end, Shelton’s thunderous serve proved decisive.
What a player. What a spectacle. What a pity there had to be a loser. And what a shame that so much of the world was asleep while it happened. Set aside, for a moment, the extraordinary drama of this New York night and the question remains: what sense is there in starting a match after 11pm, aside from serving a handful of insomniacs, viewers in distant time zones and, perhaps, Shelton’s semifinal opponent Frances Tiafoe?
Carlos Alcaraz appeared to vomit into a towel during his US Open defeat
Alcaraz was visibly struggling in a match that ended in defeat at around 3.30am local time
An ecstatic Ben Shelton celebrates beating Alcaraz in the latest ever finish at the US Open
Alcaraz has now played in the two latest finishes in US Open history. Back in 2022, en route to his first title in New York, the Spaniard beat Jannik Sinner at 2:50am. How we missed him over those four months when his wrist betrayed him. With this defeat, Alcaraz’s title defense is over. With this win, Shelton has ensured an American will be in the final and a new name will be on the trophy.
It was at 11:05pm local time – after more than 13 hours of action and a final plea to influencers not to use Arthur Ashe Stadium for a personal photoshoot – Shelton and Alcaraz were finally ready to bring the curtain down on Day 11.
They had just over three and half hours to wrap this up or risk breaking new ground. They failed. Of course they failed. This showdown with Shelton had all the ingredients to be a blockbuster, another marathon tug of war.
But the 23,000 fans who forked out for this night session – including Seal, Simone Biles and Kevin Hart – knew the risk they ran. Unlike at Wimbledon, there is no 11pm curfew here. Only last week, Venus Williams’ first-round match kicked off at 12:13am – a US Open record – and on his way to the quarterfinals, No 1 seed Alexander Zverev has already clocked off at 1:55am and 2:15am.
Shelton had played beyond 2am in the second round and there was nothing sleepy about the way he began this match.
For 12 games and most of a breathless first-set tiebreak, the American went toe-to-toe with Alcaraz. Time and again, this contest delivered on its promise of swagger and vicious shot-making.
Shelton’s girlfriend Trinity Rodman stayed until the bitter end as her partner beat Alcaraz
But some members of the crowd were less engaged with the late finish in the quarter-final
And yet it felt so predictable, so ominous, when – at 5-5 – Shelton was broken to love. How often do we see the very best find a way just when a set teeters on a knife edge?
This time, though, Shelton did not yield. At least not immediately. He broke back before taking control of the tiebreak.
One astonishing rally, in which the American pulled Alcaraz from back to a front like a yo-yo, sent Arthur Ashe into a frenzy. Only one member of the crowd was not lost in rapture: Shelton’s father, Bryan, who gestured for his son to calm down.
The 23-year-old heeded his advice and looked set to steal the set when he led 5-3 in the tiebreak. But then, Alcaraz found something from somewhere. Four points later, he had drawn first blood.
That was the trigger for many inside Arthur Ashe to call it a night. Who could blame them for thinking the dye was cast? Thankfully Shelton didn’t see it that way – even after squandering four break points in the opening game of the second set.
The American’s pressure finally told two games later and, this time, Alcaraz had no immediate answer. So Shelton turned the screw, breaking three times in succession to take the set 6-1. It was 12:56am, we had a game on our hands and the stadium speakers blasted out Jay Z’s reminder that this ‘city never sleeps.’
You’d do well to doze off in earshot of ‘DJ Mode’ at the best of times. Let alone with this quarterfinal so finely poised.
And yet, by the time Alcaraz and Shelton climbed out of their chairs, more and more fans were on their way home. At this point, nowhere was more sparsely filled than courtside where a single seat can cost up to $5,000.
Those who remained in the posh seats were treated to more majesty at either end of the third set: first, a remarkable rally that saw Shelton stretch and contort every fiber of his 6ft 4in frame.
After 18 shots, Alcaraz eventually claimed the point before cupping his hand behind his ear. And then, half an hour later, the Spaniard won a battle of touch around the net. Even Shelton’s girlfriend – soccer star Trinity Rodman – rose to her feet to applaud.
Unfortunately for Alcaraz, neither made a difference as Shelton held firm to take the third set. This time, his father was his biggest hype man. At the other end, Alcaraz bent at the waist. It was 1:43am and those four-and-half months off appeared to be catching up with the No 2 seed. He was grimacing and chuntering and soon Alcaraz faced more break points.
This time, though, he saved them and then, out of nowhere, he put dent after dent in Shelton’s serve. Alcaraz won five of the next six games to send this to a decider. It was 2:20am and we were headed toward more history on Arthur Ashe.
How much had that taken out of the defending champion? As thousands of fans – many of whom had migrated from the nosebleeds to the lower bowl – bayed for more, Alcaraz appeared to vomit into his towel.
And yet, as this match ticked towards a fifth hour, the Spaniard seemed to find a second – third? fourth? – wind. He opened up a break-point opportunity and repelled Shelton as the American banged at the door. By the time Alcaraz sent this to a tiebreak, it was 3:21am. At long, long last. Something had to give. In the end, it was Alcaraz who broke.
