At 3:33 a.m. on Wednesday, with the crowd still buzzing from the match, Ben Shelton let out a roar filled with pure emotion. He tightened his fists and shouted repeatedly, expressing his joy and triumph.
He headed over to his support team, still shouting, and honestly, who could blame him? After all, he had just won perhaps the most significant match of his career, keeping alive the hopes of ending the long-standing drought for American men at the U.S. Open.
In an impressive four hours and 28 minutes, Shelton, the eighth seed, took down Carlos Alcaraz, a seven-time major champion, by the scores of 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7). This victory ousted the Spaniard, who had previously claimed the title here twice and lost only one set in his earlier rounds.
Next up for Shelton is Frances Tiafoe, who himself secured a dramatic victory earlier in the day, setting up a semifinal match on Friday.
This guarantees that there will be an American male competing in the U.S. Open final for the second time in three years and just the third time in the last two decades.
In Shelton, there might just be a promising contender to break a 23-year drought for American men in Grand Slam titles, a void that has existed since Andy Roddick’s win in 2003.
“For me, it’s always about the people in the crowd,” Shelton shared in a post-match interview. “Whether it’s my team over there, my family and friends here, or every single New Yorker who showed up at 3 a.m. with their USA chants until the very end.”
The young player seemed perfectly at ease on the grand New York stage, playing with both passion and flair. He managed to overcome Alcaraz without heavily relying on his powerful 140 mph serve, displaying excellent baseline coverage and point control.
Back and forth they went, exchanging blows in riveting rallies, with Shelton managing to hold his own against one of the world’s best players.
Despite that, it took all of his endurance and every ounce of effort to secure the victory after five tough sets.
As both players held serve in the final set, the early hours crept by, with the match becoming the latest ever in U.S. Open history.
When Alcaraz served at 3-4, it was just after 3 a.m. He faced and overcame three break points before the match hit the four-hour mark. By this time, the remaining fans were in it for the long haul, committed to the thrilling spectacle.
Play continued on serve, eventually leading to a tiebreak. Shelton began the 10-point tiebreak strong at 3-1 but then found himself down as Alcaraz rallied. Yet, Shelton regained his lead with a powerful serve at 6-6 and watched as a backhand from Alcaraz went long, moving to 8-6. After dropping the next point, Shelton served again at 8-7 as the crowd anticipated a climax.
Alcaraz returned wide, making it 9-7. Then Shelton served an ace to clinch the match.
The match had held the promise of a thrilling conclusion from the start.
When both players were equal at five games each in the first set, Shelton faltered first but fought back to take a 5-3 lead in the tiebreak only to lose four straight points for the set.
No matter, though; after missing several break-point opportunities at the start of the second set, Shelton launched into a string of nine consecutive games, claiming the second set 6-1 and establishing a 3-0 lead in the third, ultimately winning it 6-3.
If it had been anyone else, they might not have survived past four sets, given how Shelton dominated the second and third. But against Alcaraz, a five-set battle was more than likely, and the Spaniard did indeed rally to take the fourth set 6-1.
It seemed only fitting that the contest would stretch to its limits.
With a legacy of champions like Connors, McEnroe, Chang, Agassi, Sampras, and Roddick, this night perhaps marked the emergence of the next male face of American tennis.
“It’s incredible,” Shelton reflected. “I’d say this is the greatest sports city in the world and this stadium is the greatest. I just hope my best friend and sister don’t have to be at work in just a few hours.”
