Alkaras loses his US Championship title by losing to Shelton

Spaniard Carlos Alcarras, ranked third in the world, lost his title in the US Tennis Championship, losing in the quarter-finals to American Ben Shelton, eighth: 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (7-10), in a match that ended after 3:30 a.m. Wednesday local time in New York.

After a match that lasted 4 hours and 28 minutes, Shelton put an end to Alcarras' series of victories in the four major tournaments at 18 consecutive matches, ending the Spaniard's return to the field for the first time after an absence of more than 4 months due to injury.

The 23-year-old will compete in the semi-finals for the second time in the last of the four major tournaments, after the first of 2023, when his career ended at the hands of Serbian Novak Djokovic. In his next test, he will meet his compatriot Frances Tiafoe 0-3 in the fifth set.

Tuesday's confrontation, which became the longest in the morning hours in the history of the American tournament, was the fourth between 23-year-old players, and Shelton achieved his first victory over the Spaniard, who also won the title in 2022, in his first major victory out of 7 so far, after previously losing in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters 1000-point tournament in 2023, the group stage of the “Laver” Cup in 2024, and the eighth final of “Roland Garros” in 2025.

This is the first time that Alcarras has failed to reach the semi-finals at least in the four major tournaments, since the “Australian Open” at the beginning of last year, when he was eliminated in the quarter-finals as well, before he was crowned champion of “Roland Garros” and “Flushing Meadows” and then the “Australian Open” in 2026, in addition to the “Wimbledon” final in 2025.