Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open title defence came to a dramatic end after the Spaniard suffered a gruelling five-set defeat to American Ben Shelton in a quarter-final thriller that stretched beyond 3:30am.

Shelton emerged victorious 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6, producing a stunning performance to send the defending champion crashing out of the tournament. The American prevailed in a tense final-set tie-break, winning it 10-7 after Alcaraz had fought his way back into the contest.

The victory also saw Shelton join fellow American Frances Tiafoe as the second US player to reach the US Open 2026 semi-finals.

Shelton holds his nerve in epic decider

Alcaraz had appeared to be building momentum after reaching the quarter-finals with just one set dropped against Jamie Faria. However, the Spaniard struggled to reproduce his best tennis against Shelton, who repeatedly put pressure on his serve.

Alcaraz conceded 16 break points during the contest and was broken five times. Against a player renowned for his formidable serve, allowing so many opportunities proved costly.

The 23-year-old Spaniard did manage to break Shelton’s serve three times and forced the contest into a deciding-set tie-break. But when the crucial moment arrived, Shelton held his nerve to seal a memorable 10-7 victory.

Alcaraz struggles with rhythm

Alcaraz’s defeat was particularly striking given his reputation for controlling matches while keeping unforced errors to a minimum.

However, the defending champion appeared short of his best and committed 53 unforced errors, compared with Shelton’s 35. His lack of match rhythm appeared to prove costly during the marathon encounter.

The Spaniard had missed a significant portion of the season because of a wrist injury and only returned to competitive action at the US Open. That limited preparation was one of the reasons he had not been considered the outright favourite for the title despite remaining firmly among the contenders.

His run to the quarter-finals, however, had revived hopes that he could still mount another deep Grand Slam campaign even without being at his peak.

Shelton hails ‘most enjoyable’ match

Shelton described the encounter as an “epic match” after securing one of the biggest victories of his career.

“Epic match, so physical,” Shelton told reporters. The American also paid tribute to his opponent, praising Alcaraz despite the Spaniard’s defeat.

“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. It’s ridiculous some of the stuff he comes up with sometimes,” Shelton said.

He added, “The most enjoyable match that I’ve had in my career, for sure.”

With Alcaraz’s title defence over, Shelton now advances to the US Open semi-finals, carrying the momentum of a remarkable victory over one of the biggest names in men’s tennis.