Ben Shelton’s biggest night at the U.S. Open came with a little courtside comedy, too.
After outlasting defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set marathon on Wednesday morning, Shelton shared a sweet postmatch moment with girlfriend Trinity Rodman before heading into his interview. That’s where Rodman had a little fun of her own.
Shelton said he was hoping his best friend and sister, who were also in the crowd, wouldn’t have to be at work in a few hours after the long night. Rodman, laughing at not being mentioned, playfully held her arms out in a “what about me?”
motion.
Shelton’s win was the kind of match that turns into a memory for everyone in the building, and for plenty who were watching well past midnight. The quarterfinal didn’t begin until just after 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, stretched to four hours and 28 minutes, and didn’t finish until 3:33 a.m.
ET. That made it the latest match ever at the U.S.
Open, with Shelton celebrating in front of a crowd that was still fully locked in at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The final score told the story of how back-and-forth it was: 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6. Shelton was sharp enough early to stay in it, strong enough in the middle to take control, and steady enough at the end to close it with an ace and punch his ticket to the semifinals.
He made clear afterward that the crowd mattered to him every step of the way.
“For me it’s always about the people in the crowd,” he said. “Whether it’s my team over there, my family and friends over here, every single New Yorker showing up here tonight at 3 a.m. with the USA chants until the very end.”
The match itself had the kind of shot-making that kept the stadium buzzing. In the first-set tiebreaker, Shelton produced a point that drew immediate attention.
Alcaraz answered with his own dazzling court coverage in the third set, then the two went at it again in the fourth on another breathtaking rally that Alcaraz finished. By then, the match had turned into exactly what the late crowd hoped for: a full-blown heavyweight fight.
Shelton was blunt about what he had just survived.
“I’m tired. It was a war,” Shelton said after his win.
“Carlos is one of the greatest champions of our sport. It was the most enjoyable match I’ve had in my career, for sure.”
Alcaraz, for his part, said he was disappointed to come up short but proud of the way he battled through it.
"It was really close, so I was disappointed I didn't get the win at the end," Alcaraz said. "But I'm happy, I am proud of myself about how I fought. As I said, physically I was really tired, but I found a way to push myself.
"I'm leaving happy and my head held high. The truth is I wanted to win ... but also our goal was to leave the tournament having played matches and staying healthy."
Shelton, 23, now gets a few days to recover before facing fellow American Frances Tiafoe in Friday’s semifinals. Tiafoe advanced by beating Alex Mickelsen in another five-set marathon on Tuesday. The other two men’s quarterfinal matches are set for Wednesday.
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Frances Tiafoe Had A US Open Moment Tennis Fans Wont Forget
Frances Tiafoe kept his U.S. Open run alive with a hard-fought quarterfinal win over Alex Michelsen, adding another chapter to a matchup that has gone Tiafoes way each time they have met professionally. The result carried the kind of weight that only a five-set battle in New York can bring, with both players leaving plenty on the court before the evening turned in Tiafoes favor.
Michelsens emotions were easy to see after the final point, and the scene at the net quickly shifted from competition to compassion. Tiafoe stayed with him there and offered comfort in a moment that said as much about the sport as the score did, a reminder that even in the middle of a major breakthrough, the human side of tennis can still take center stage. [Read more 🡒]