Behind the baseline inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, the clocks ticked beyond 2:50am. It was Wednesday morning. A school day. Sunrise was only a few hours away. And yet? With the help of several thousand New Yorkers – some drunk, some asleep, the rest simply delirious – Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton dragged the US Open into uncharted waters.
Never in history had a match here finished this late. Never before had these two put on such a spectacle. But after four and a half sets and nearly four hours, the curtain refused to fall on this quarterfinal.
It was exhausting. It was intoxicating. And for Alcaraz, it was sickening. Before the start of the deciding set, the defending champion appeared to vomit into his towel. But still it went on. All the way until road’s end: a fifth-set tiebreak.
All the way until 3:33am, when after four hours and 28 minutes, Ben Shelton fired down an 146mph ace, stuck out his tongue, pulled Alcaraz into a long embrace and then – at long, long last – soaked up the biggest moment of his young career.
The scoreline – 6-7 6-1 6-3 1-6 7-6 – spoke to the undulating chaos of the occasion: as night gave way to morning, this match swung back and forth between two of the most electrifying talents in tennis. In the end, it was Shelton and his hammer serve that won out.
What a player. What a night. What a shame someone had to lose. And what a travesty most of the world slept through it. Forget, for a moment, the incredible theater on this long night in New York. What are we doing? Who wins from starting a game after 11pm – beyond a few insomniacs, TV viewers on the other side of the world, and Shelton’s semifinal opponent Frances Tiafoe?
Carlos Alcaraz was seen throwing up into a towel as he was knocked out of the US Open
Alcaraz was clearly struggling during the match – which ended in defeat at 3.30am local time
An ecstatic Ben Shelton celebrates beating Alcaraz in the latest ever finish at the US Open
‘I am just hoping that my best friend and my sister over there don’t have to be at work at 6am – in three hours,’ Shelton said. ‘It would be huge for their employers to let them have the day off today.’
The American added: ‘I am so grateful, so blessed. God has blessed in so many ways… sharing the court with Carlos is an absolute honor and I cherish every moment I have out here.’
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 ended a run of 17 matches without victory over a top-three player. He 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.
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.
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
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.
With this win, Shelton ended a run of 17 matches without victory over a top-three player
Alcaraz recovered from two sets to one down to force a decider, only to lose on a tiebreak
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 and Shelton who marched into a second US Open semifinal. After this, who would bet on him stopping there?