Shelton ends Alcaraz's title in late-night marathon, will face Tiafoe in US Open
Ben Shelton ended Carlos Alcaraz’s title reign in the latest-finishing match in U.S. Open history as he pulled out a 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 victory in a marathon tussle that ended at 3:33 a.m.
asserted
that → end → a.m.
Alcaraz had his 18-match winning streak in Grand Slam tour...
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Alcaraz → have → tour
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.
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chance → go → reign
Shelton fired an ace at 146 mph, a ball that Alcaraz couldn't have gotten back even with fresh legs.
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Alcaraz → fire → 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.
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that → give → history
“I’m tired.
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I → ’m → ?
It was a war,” Shelton said.
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Shelton → say → ?
It was the most enjoyable match I've had in my career, for sure.”
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I → have → career
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.
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he → have → trophy
“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.
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Alcaraz → mean → end
“But I’m happy, I am proud of myself about how I fought.
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I → ’m → myself
As I said, physically I was really tired but I found a way to push myself.”
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I → say → 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.
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he → play → 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.
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Roddick → guarantee → 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.
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that → play → 19
The U.S. Open craves its night matches and players love the energy the fans provide — even when a number of matches have already gone past 2 a.m. this year.
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number → crave → a.m.
Thousands stayed to the end, with Arthur Ashe Stadium perhaps still one-third full for the finish.
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Thousands → stay → finish
Shelton benefited from a home-crowd boost even against the popular Alcaraz, with fans chanting his name along with “USA! USA!”
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fans → benefit → USA
“It’s incredible," Shelton said.
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Shelton → ’ → ?
“I always say that this is the greatest sports city in the world, I say that this is the greatest stadium in the world.
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this → say → world
I’m just hoping that my best friend and my sister over there don’t have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours.”
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friend → hop → hours
Three of the four singles quarterfinals went to match tiebreakers on a marathon day, which started with Aryna Sabalenka edging Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova to keep her hopes alive of a third straight U.S. Open title.
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Sabalenka → go → title
Alcaraz will have to wait for his next one.
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Alcaraz → have → one
Instead it was Shelton reaching his third major semifinal, having gotten to the final four in the 2023 U.S. Open and 2025 Australian Open.
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Shelton → reach → Open
He seized control by winning nine straight games from early in the second set until he had a 3-0 lead in the third.
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he → seize → third
But Alcaraz, in his first tournament since April after returning from a right wrist injury, battled back even as he vomited before the start of the final set.
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he → return → set
Alcaraz ran off four straight points in the tiebreaker to go ahead 5-3, but Shelton came back behind some of his powerful serves that can exceed 140 mph, along with some mistakes from Alcaraz.
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that → run → Alcaraz
Shelton eventually finished it off with a 146 mph serve his opponent couldn't get back.
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opponent → finish → serve
He won his seventh Grand Slam title at the Australian Open to start this year not long before his injury, and came to Flushing Meadows saying he didn't know what to expect.
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he → win → what
“I’m leaving happy and my head held high,” Alcaraz said.
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Alcaraz → leave → ?
“The truth is, I wanted to win ... but also our goal was to leave the tournament having played matches and staying healthy.”
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goal → want → matches
Tiafoe reached the semifinals in 2022 and lost to Alcaraz, when the Spaniard won his first of seven Grand Slam titles.
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Spaniard → reach → titles
Tiafoe lost to fellow American Taylor Fritz two years later, when the U.S. came closest to ending it’s men’s drought.
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U.S. → lose → drought
It certainly didn’t appear Tiafoe would be going back this time, after Michelsen continued his dominant run through his breakout tournament.
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Michelsen → appear → tournament
He was the only man who hadn’t dropped a set, and he served to win the match with a 5-4 lead in the third.
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he → drop → third
He couldn't finish it off and Tiafoe charged back after falling behind 3-0 in the fifth set.
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Tiafoe → finish → set
Tiafoe said his performance to start the match was slow and flat.
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performance → say → match
“It wasn’t good, let’s put it that way.
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’s → let → it
It wasn’t good,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“Three out of five is a blessing, because you have time to get it together.
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you → have → it
…and 3 more, not listed.
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