Alcaraz dethroned: How Shelton pulled off the upset

NEW YORK -- After a wild, drama-filled day of tennis, Tuesday -- or more accurately, Wednesday -- ended with the biggest stunner of them all.

Playing in front of a still-engaged crowd well into the early morning hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Ben Shelton, the top-ranked American man, earned one of the biggest victories of his career with a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7) win over reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz. It marked Shelton's first victory over a top-three player and, concluding at 3:33 a.m. local time, it was the latest finish in tournament history.

The 23-year-old is now into the third major semifinal of his career, and second in New York.

When it was over, after sealing the match with an ace, Shelton appeared to be almost in disbelief for a brief moment before sticking out his tongue and looking over at his box in celebration.

Alcaraz, who was 25-0 when winning the opening set at the US Open, immediately went over to congratulate him and the two exchanged friendly words. It was Alcaraz's first-ever loss to an American player at a Slam, and first defeat at a major to a lefty. It was also the end of an 18-match Slam win streak for Alcaraz.

Shelton is now one win away from reaching the first major final of his career, and he remained in a state of elation and exhaustion when speaking to a packed hallway of reporters moments after walking off the court.

"I'm tired," Shelton said with a smile. "That was a war, [an] epic match, so physical. Carlos is one of the greatest champions in our sport, already at 23 years old. It's always fun being on the court against him. Ridiculous stuff he comes up with sometimes, but yeah, the most enjoyable match that I've had in my career for sure."

Here's what happened -- and what it means for the rest of the tournament.

What happened

Taking the court after 11 o'clock on Tuesday night, both men arrived energized and seemingly eager to put on a show. The two traded holds of serve for much of the first set, until Alcaraz earned the first break to take a 6-5 edge. But Shelton broke right back to force a tiebreak.

With their athleticism and elite shotmaking on full display, the tiebreak was pure cinema, before Alcaraz ultimately took it.

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Shelton and Alcaraz have fans on their feet after jaw-dropping point

But that's when things went haywire. While hundreds of fans headed for the exit -- - it was after midnight, after all -- presumably thinking the match would be straightforward from then on, Shelton had other ideas. Alcaraz looked fatigued and was struggling with the longer points -- and Shelton pounced. Alcaraz had 17 unforced errors in the set, compared to just five for Shelton.

Alcaraz looked equally gassed for much of the third set and simply could find little rhythm or answers. Shelton won nine straight games, stretching into a 3-0 lead into the third. Alcaraz later said he felt "really tired" and his movement appeared hindered.

"I returned really well," Shelton said. "I thought I was smart with how I went about my return games. I thought I made him play a lot ... And I think for me to be able to hang in there in the rallies, have a game plan from the ground and be able to execute that game plan and not be losing all the baseline points also helps with the return."

But in the fourth set, Alcaraz -- who was spotted vomiting multiple times into a towel -- raised his level. Suddenly, he was the one dominating every statistical category and leaving Shelton confused. Alcaraz later said he was most proud of his fight after losing the third set.

Despite the length of the match and the late hour, the deciding set was remarkably competitive -- and, like two of the three other matches earlier in the day -- was decided by a tiebreak. Alcaraz at one point held a 5-3 lead, but Shelton wouldn't go away. His ace on match point clocked in at 146 miles per hour.

"He is a beast," Alcaraz said after the match. "Shelton is an unbelievable player, powerful. He just manages to play really, really well in every situation. So credit to him."

What does this mean for Shelton?

Aside from marking one of the biggest victories of his career, and proving he has what it takes to defeat one of the current "Big Two," it also makes Shelton the favorite to win the US Open.

Yes, that's right. An American man is the favorite to win a major.

As no countryman has won a Slam since Andy Roddick did so at the US Open in 2003, this is a colossal opportunity. Shelton had felt positive after his last meeting with Alcaraz -- a fourth-round match he lost at the 2025 French Open in four sets -- but believed he had improved considerably, with his serve, return and movement. He will now be brimming with confidence entering Friday's semifinal showdown against fellow American and close friend Frances Tiafoe, the No. 11 seed.

Shelton owns a career 3-1 record over Tiafoe, including their most recent meeting last summer in Washington D.C. But they have split their two previous US Open clashes, with Shelton defeating Tiafoe in 2023 to reach his first major semifinal and Tiafoe returning the favor the following year in the Round of 32. Both are electric showmen who thrive off the energy of the crowd and Tiafoe predicted Ashe would "be rocking" no matter who he ended up playing.

Both Shelton and Tiafoe will have the chance to reach their first major final -- and either one would overwhelmingly be the fan favorite in Sunday's final. Shelton's quarterfinal win also guarantees a Black American man to reach the final at the US Open for the first time since Arthur Ashe in 1972, and the first Black American man to play in any major final since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996.

While his sleep schedule will undoubtedly be disturbed by his quarterfinal thriller, Shelton said he wasn't concerned about being ready for Friday's match.

"Two days? Yeah, I think that'd be all right," he said about the amount of time he had to recover.

What does this mean for the rest of the field?

While the women's draw had been remarkably consistent, and all of the top six players had reached the quarterfinals, the men's draw had been chaotic and unpredictable. Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, withdrew before the tournament got underway and Alcaraz's status was unknown simply because he had been absent with a wrist injury for nearly five months.

And it only got more unexpected as play began. Novak Djokovic, the 24-time major champion, was upset in the first round. So was No. 10 seed Arthur Fils, less than two weeks removed from his Cincinnati Open title.

Six of the top-10 seeds were out by the end of the third round. Taylor Fritz, the No. 9 seed and 2024 US Open finalist, was among them. "I don't even know what to say," a dejected Fritz, long the country's best hope to snap the drought, told reporters after his early exit.

And while the entire field was in shambles, the top half of the draw was -- and remains -- almost inexplicable and even unrecognizable to the casual fan. While top-seeded Alexander Zverev, the reigning French Open champion, remains in it entering Wednesday's quarterfinals, and despite several close calls of his own, the remaining quarterfinalists are all in search of their first major title and have an average current ranking of 51.

Zverev will take on Botic van de Zandschulp, the world No. 70, on Wednesday night, and Karen Khachanov, a two-time Slam semifinalist now ranked No. 50, will play No. 28 seed Alexander Blockx. Zverev is expected to emerge as the finalist, but it's truly anyone's spot to claim.

Zverev has a 5-0 record over Shelton, with three such meetings coming on the hard court. The German has a similarly favorable record over Tiafoe, having won nine of their 10 matches and every encounter since 2017. But, first Zverev needs to get past van de Zandschulp -- and then Khachanov or Blockx -- and that is hardly a given. He needed deciding sets in both of his opening round matches last week.

One thing is for sure: For all of the men remaining in the draw, this is an incredible opportunity and perhaps their best chance to win a US Open title.