Alcaraz calls 3.34am US Open loss to Shelton a gift after injury layoff
Carlos Alcaraz lost his US Open title to Ben Shelton at 3.34am after five sets and four hours and 28 minutes.
It was the latest finish in US Open history. No clock. Nowhere to hide.
The defeat came in the quarter-finals in New York, but Alcaraz called the run a gift. It was his first tournament in more than five months after a wrist injury that left him in pain every day, he told BBC Sport.
He did not defend his French Open title. He did not play Wimbledon. He did not know until a week before the US Open — a Grand Slam, one of tennis's four majors — whether he would make it at all.
That context shaped a long, winding night on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Five sets of serve and return stretched past midnight and into the small hours, with momentum swinging on small margins and tired legs. Shelton held firm. The defending champion went out.
What makes this stand out is what Alcaraz said next. Playing that late is too much, he said. He would like tennis to set a maximum finish of 11pm.
He was not alone in finishing late. Alexander Zverev, the eventual US Open champion, finished past 1am in three of his first five matches. Venus Williams closed her first-round match at 2am.
For fans, this means late-night drama with a cost. Short nights drain recovery, dull the next round and test nerve as much as technique.
Alcaraz now heads to London for the Laver Cup at The O2 on 25-27 September. He will play for Team Europe, captained by Yannick Noah, against a United States team overseen by Andre Agassi.
It is a team event, Europe against the world in all but name, played over three days of singles and doubles. Alcaraz arrives with a 26-4 record for the 2026 season, according to the ATP Tour, and will join forces with Zverev for Team Europe. He described Zverev as probably the best player in the world right now.
The bigger rivalry remains on hold. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner split eight Grand Slam titles between them in 2024 and 2025. They met only once this year, with Sinner winning the Monte Carlo Masters final to become world No.1.
Sinner missed New York with a knee injury. Jack Draper ended his season early to recover from an arm injury. Alcaraz said he misses Sinner and playing against him because Sinner pushes him to be a better player.
He also said at the US Open he will skip some future tournaments to stay mentally and physically healthy. After five months out, a quarter-final at 3.34am felt like a start, not an end.
