US Open: Shelton upsets Alcaraz in thrilling quarterfinal

New Delhi: Ben Shelton on Wednesday upset defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10/7) in an entertaining US Open quarter-final clash to earn one of the most thrilling wins of his career.

Shelton snapped the Spaniard’s 18-match winning streak in majors with the biggest triumph of his career in a four-hour and 28-minute match.

It was the latest finish in US Open history, with Shelton firing the clinching 146-mph ace at 3:33 a.m. The previous record also involved Alcaraz, who exactly two years ago saved a match point to edge Jannik Sinner in five sets in the quarter-finals, with their match finishing at 2:50 a.m. in New York.

Shelton, who claimed his second ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal and has now upset the defending champion Alcaraz in New York to advance to the last four at the hard-court major for the first time since 2023.

Alcaraz was playing his first tournament following a four-month injury layoff, but had dropped just one set on his way to the quarter-finals before Shelton ended his title defence. The Spaniard was chasing his eighth major title and seeking to become the first man since Roger Federer to defend his US Open crown.

Alcaraz entered the quarter-final clash on an 18-match winning streak at the majors, a personal-best mark that included his 2025 US Open win and his title run at this year’s Australian Open, with which he became the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Shelton will next take on 11th seed Frances Tiafoe in the last four, with both players aiming to reach their first major final. Shelton leads 3-1 in his rivalry with Tiafoe.

Two of the pair’s four meetings have happened on the hard courts in Flushing Meadows, with Shelton winning the quarter-final meeting in 2023 before Tiafoe winning the third-round clash in 2024.

IANS