In a tennis marathon lasting 4 hours and 28 minutes, Ben Shelton demonstrated his full potential and with a result of 6:7(5), 6:1, 6:3, 1:6, 7:6(7) defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (ATP-3).
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The real tennis spectacle held at the central Arthur Ashe court in New York lasted until dawn – the match ended at 3:33 a.m., which is the latest finish ever at the US Open championships.
After a dramatically lost first set, the American tennis player did not lose composure and completely took control of the match, winning nine games in a row.
Having not played for more than four months due to a severe wrist injury, C. Alcaraz at one point looked physically drained, but finding inner strength, the Spanish tennis wunderkind fought back in the decisive fifth set and was very close to victory.
However, at the crucial moment, B. Shelton’s serves thundered from the baseline – the American finally broke a Top 3 opponent in the ATP ranking for the first time in his career after 17 failures.
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For the 23-year-old tennis player from Atlanta, this will be his third Grand Slam semifinal and second in New York. In 2023, Novak Djokovic stopped him at this stage.
By the way, for the Spanish tennis star, this was only his second loss in 17 matches in five-set encounters at Grand Slam tournaments. He also lost to an American for the first time in a Grand Slam event.
The impressive streak at the US Open tournament will continue – the last time a champion successfully defended the title in New York was Roger Federer, who did so in 2007–2008.
B. Shelton’s opponent in the men’s singles semifinal will be compatriot Frances Tiafoe (ATP-12), who also won a five-set thriller against Alex Michelsen (ATP-49). One of these US tennis talents will reach a Grand Slam final for the first time in their career.
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