It may have happened during a quarter-final match, and it may have taken place while most of the country was asleep, but Ben Shelton officially became the face of American men’s tennis on Wednesday morning at the US Open.
After four hours and 28 minutes of war, Shelton secured his victory over seven-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) at 3:33 a.m. in New York, making it the longest match in the Grand Slam’s history when the clock ticked past 2:50 a.m.
By punching his ticket into the US Open semifinal for the second consecutive year, he guaranteed that the United States will be represented in Sunday’s final as he’ll take on fellow American Francis Tiafoe on Friday in the semis.
GROUP OF INFLUENCERS FORCES PAUSE DURING US OPEN MATCH WITH CRINGEWORTHY PHOTOSHOOT IN SUITE
An American man has not won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick took down Juan Carlos Ferrero at the 2003 US Open.
Shelton certainly had the crowd on his side throughout the match, and admitted that he fed off of the American fans in New York.
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“It’s always about the people in the crowd, whether it’s my coaches and my team over there, all my family and friends over here, or the city of New York,” Shelton said during his on-court interview following the match. “They showed up tonight till 3 a.m. with USA chats until the very end, that’s what kept me going, and that’s what got me this win tonight.
“I’m just hoping my best friend and my sister over there don’t have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours.”
LADIES AT THE US OPEN WERE CAUGHT ON CAMERA TAKING NOTICE OF A SHIRTLESS CARLOS ALCARAZ
Shelton’s heroics on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning snapped Alcaraz’s 18-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments. As expected, Alcaraz made life tough for Shelton at pivotal points throughout the match, but the Spaniard’s 53 unforced errors proved to be a critical difference in the end.
Shelton’s serve, the strongest weapon in his repertoire, was on full display as he secured seven aces and just two double faults throughout the five-set thriller. The victory marked Shelton’s first time defeating Alcaraz in his career, with the Spaniard previously holding a 3-0 record against the Florida native, with the two last meeting at Roland Garros in 2025.
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