After four hours and 28 minutes of war, Shelton secured his victory over seven-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) at 3:33 a.m.in New York, making it the longest match in the Grand Slam's history when the clock ticked past 2:50 a.m.By punching his ticket into the US Open semifinal for the second consecutive year, he guaranteed that the United States will be represented in Sunday's final as he'll take on fellow American Francis Tiafoe on Friday in the semis.USA's Ben Shelton celebrates his win against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz during the men's singles quarter-final tennis match on day ten of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 9, 2026.
(Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images) (Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images)GROUP OF INFLUENCERS FORCES PAUSE DURING US OPEN MATCH WITH CRINGEWORTHY PHOTOSHOOT IN SUITEAn American man has not won a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick took down Juan Carlos Ferrero at the 2003 US Open.Shelton certainly had the crowd on his side throughout the match, and admitted that he fed off of the American fans in New York.USA's Ben Shelton (R) shakes hands with Spain's Carlos Alcaraz after winning the men's singles quarter-final tennis match on day ten of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 9, 2026.(Photo by Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images) (Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images)THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.
DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!"It’s always about the people in the crowd, whether it’s my coaches and my team over there, all my family and friends over here, or the city of New York," Shelton said during his on-court interview following the match."They showed up tonight till 3 a.m.
with USA chats until the very end, that’s what kept me going, and that’s what got me this win tonight."I’m just hoping ...