NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Shelton had gone toe-to-toe with Carlos Alcaraz for five exhausting sets and finally at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday came the chance to end the U.S. Open champion’s title reign.Shelton fired an ace at 146 mph, a ball that Alcaraz couldn’t have gotten back even with fresh legs.That gave Shelton a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) victory in a marathon tussle that was the latest-finishing match in U.S. Open history.“I’m tired. It was a war,” Shelton said. “Carlos is one of the greatest champions of our sport. It was the most enjoyable match I’ve had in my career, for sure.”Alcaraz had his 18-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments ended in a match that lasted 4 hours, 28 minutes, after he fought deep into the night and early into the next morning in a bid to get his hands on the trophy again.“I mean it was close, it was really close, so I was disappointed I didn’t get the win at the end,” the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz said. “But I’m happy, I am proud of myself about how I fought. As I said, physically I was really tired but I found a way to push myself.”
Shelton next plays No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe, who kept coming back until he had reached his third U.S. Open semifinal, beating Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6) on Tuesday.The U.S. is guaranteed to have a representative in Sunday’s final as it seeks its first men’s major title since Andy Roddick lifted the title here in 2003.Alcaraz had played in the previous latest finish at the U.S. Open when he outlasted Jannik Sinner in a match that finished at 2:50 a.m. in the 2022 quarterfinals en route to his first Grand Slam title at 19.
