Ben Shelton Stuns Alcaraz in Latest-Finishing Match in US Open History

Ben Shelton is into the US Open semifinals after pulling off the upset of the tournament, knocking out defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set marathon that didn’t end until after 3 a.m. ET Wednesday morning. The No. 8 seed outlasted the world No. 2 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7), snapping Alcaraz’s Grand Slam winning streak and becoming the first man to beat him at a major since his current title run began.

The 23-year-old lefty from Atlanta has been one of the sport’s most electric personalities since bursting onto the scene, and this run cements him as a legitimate threat at every hard-court major. Shelton reached his first US Open semifinal back in 2023 as an unseeded wildcard story, and Wednesday’s win marked his third career Grand Slam semifinal appearance and his first-ever tour-level win over Alcaraz. It also became the latest-finishing match in US Open history, a five-set slugfest that pushed both players to the brink of exhaustion under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

An Epic That Pushed Both Players to the Limit

The match had everything: Alcaraz stormed back from a two-sets-to-one deficit to force a decisive fifth, only for Shelton to seal it in a tense 10-point match tiebreak. Reports out of Flushing Meadows described an exhausted Alcaraz needing a moment courtside afterward as the toll of the near four-hour battle set in, while Shelton celebrated what he called one of the signature wins of his career. The victory also snapped a personal skid — it was Shelton’s first win over Alcaraz after three previous meetings, and it arrived on the biggest stage possible.

Shelton’s path to the semifinal has been anything but easy. He needed four sets to get past Hubert Hurkacz in the second round, ground out a nervy four-set win over Denis Shapovalov in a match that didn’t start until nearly 11 p.m., and then dispatched Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals. That gauntlet of five-setters and late nights makes the win over Alcaraz all the more impressive given the physical toll already banked. Bettors tracking live odds through their DraftKings Sportsbook Review saw Shelton’s price shift dramatically in-match as he clawed back from a set down against the two-time defending finalist.

All-American Semifinal Looms Against Tiafoe

Shelton’s win guarantees at least one American man will reach Sunday’s final for the first time in more than two decades, as he’s set to face fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals. The two have built one of the most entertaining rivalries in men’s tennis, with Shelton holding a 3-1 edge in their four career meetings, including a five-set classic at this same tournament back in 2023 that Shelton won in a fourth-round thriller. Tiafoe got his revenge with a comeback five-set win over Shelton at the 2024 US Open, so the two enter Friday’s rematch dead even at 1-1 in Grand Slam meetings between them.

Tiafoe punched his own ticket to the semifinal in dramatic fashion, rallying from two sets down against Alex Michelsen to win in a fifth-set tiebreak. With both Americans playing some of the best tennis of their careers, the semifinal has quickly become one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament — and a reminder of just how deep the American men’s tennis renaissance has become after years of Grand Slam droughts on the men’s side.

What Comes Next

Shelton will look to carry the momentum from his signature win into Friday’s semifinal, where a trip to his first career Grand Slam final awaits the winner. His serve-forward, high-risk game has translated well to the pressure of late-tournament tennis, and beating the sport’s most dominant player over the last calendar year should only boost his confidence heading into the biggest match of his career. For a tournament that many expected to end with an Alcaraz-Sinner rematch, Shelton’s breakthrough has flipped the script entirely — and given American tennis fans a reason to stay up late one more time this week.