New York (AFP) – Carlos Alcaraz tumbled out of the US Open quarter-finals at 3:34 am Wednesday, falling to American Ben Shelton in an epic five-set thriller that broke the record for latest finish ever at Flushing Meadows. The big-hitting Shelton claimed his first career win over Alcaraz, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10/7), ending the Spaniard’s hopes of retaining his title in his first tournament back after a four-month injury absence. It took a brutal four hours and 28 minutes, finishing long past the previous latest finish in New York of 2:50 am — Alcaraz’s five-set quarter-final win over Jannik Sinner in 2022.
Shelton equals his semi-final run at the US Open three years ago and booked an all-American semi-final against Frances Tiafoe, who came back from two sets down to beat Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10/6). It means Tiafoe and Shelton have a chance to become the first Americans to win the US Open men’s singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003.
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“That was a war, epic match, so physical,” Shelton said. “Carlos is one of the greatest champions in our sport already at 23 years old. It’s always fun being on the court against him. It’s ridiculous some of the stuff he comes up with sometimes — the most enjoyable match that I’ve had in my career, for sure.”
Alcaraz was upbeat. “It was close. It was close. So I’m just not going to be disappointed about not getting the win at the end,” he said. “I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.”
Alcaraz had gone from strength to strength through his first four matches, but Shelton finally proved too much. Shelton, pumped up by the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, reeled off nine straight games bridging the second and third sets to seize control, capitalizing on Alcaraz’s flagging serve and getting the better of him in rallies that left him winded. Alcaraz stopped the rot, mustering a break chance as Shelton served for the third set before the American closed it out. It was a sign that Alcaraz was far from a spent force, and he roared back to take the fourth set in just 36 minutes.
The margins in the fifth set were razor thin. Alcaraz had a break chance at 2-2, then it was Shelton’s turn at 4-3, but the match was destined to go all the way, to a 10-point match tiebreak that Shelton capped with an ace on match point. The first three matches of the day all went the distance, so Alcaraz and Shelton didn’t get under way until after 11 pm — and both exploded out of the gate.
Neither man faced a break point through the first 10 games, although Alcaraz came under self-inflicted pressure with back-to-back double faults that made for a complicated hold for 4-4. Alcaraz put together his first love hold for 5-5, then grabbed the first break in the next game, forcing a forehand error from Shelton as the American was feeling the pressure at 0-40 down.
That left the Spaniard to serve for the set, but two errors to start the game were all the opening Shelton needed. He broke to force the tiebreaker and seized a 5-3 lead, only for Alcaraz to win the last four points and pocket the set after 61 minutes. But Alcaraz could not maintain the pace, and as his struggles on serve increased, Shelton roared away, two of his three service breaks coming courtesy of double faults from the Spaniard, including one on set point.
“I knew that my serve was only going to get better, and if I had already dialed in the return to the point that I could break him, I thought my chances were good to get that second set,” Shelton said. “Once I got rolling the second set, broke him three times in that set, it was a lot easier to just play and swing more freely.”
© 2024 AFP
