New York City, US, Sep 9 (EFE).- Defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated early Wednesday morning from the tournament by American Ben Shelton in a five-set quarterfinal thriller that lasted four hours and 28 minutes.
The final score was 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) in an epic match that ended after 3:30 am and shattered the previous US Open record for latest finish (2:50 am), which also involved Alcaraz during his 2022 victory over Jannik Sinner.
Shelton will face compatriot Frances Tiafoe on Thursday in the semifinals, which guarantees that the US will have a finalist on Sunday, seeking to end the men’s Grand Slam singles drought that has lasted since Andy Roddick’s victory in 2003.
The Spaniard chose New York to return to action after an almost five-month long layoff due to a wrist injury at the Conde de Godó tournament. It was an epic comeback in which he surprised and improved round after round, until he ran into Shelton.
Until this match, world no. 9 Shelton had a 0-17 record against top-3 opponents.
Alcaraz and Shelton began their match with a lot of caution, even respect, which started after 11 pm at Arthur Ashe, the main venue in Flushing Meadows, Queens.
Until 5-5, neither had a single break opportunity, with solid serves that suggested a long match and the possibility of several tie-breaks.
That’s when Alcaraz changed the pace with a break to love to serve for the first set, but he gave the advantage right back with four unforced errors, a sign of what was to come.
The set went to a tie-break, which Alcaraz won 7-6 (5) but the match was still far from decided.
After both held their first two service games of the second set with great effort, the Murcian conceded three consecutive breaks to Shelton, who took the set 6-1.
The Spaniard finished the match with 53 unforced errors, compared to only 38 winners. Shelton, on the other hand, only made 35 unforced errors.
After losing 9 games in a row, Alcaraz fought back to make it 3-1 in the third set but ended up losing it 6-3.
Alcaraz then staged a strong comeback in the fourth set, with an early break he consolidated to take a 3-0 lead and then broke Shelton again to take the set 6-1.
But the extreme physical toll of the match saw Alcaraz puking twice into a towel during that fourth set.
Alcaraz and Shelton once again held their serves in the final set. The Murcian defended three break points to prevent Ben Shelton from serving for the match at 5-3 and the set went to a tie-break, which the American won.
Until this defeat, Alcaraz held a 15–1 record in five-set matches, with only one defeat at the hands of Matteo Berrettini early in his professional career. EFE
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