Battling physical duress, world No. 2 and defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out of the tournament in a quarter-final defeat against home favourite Ben Shelton.

The No. 8-seeded Shelton overcame Alcaraz in an epic five-setter that extended well past midnight at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York on Tuesday night. Alcaraz, who was faced with an apparent wrist injury and had also appeared to vomit in a towel during the marathon contest that eventually lasted over four hours, managed to push the game to a decisive fifth set, forcing a 10-point tiebreak.

However, Shelton held his nerve as the match clock struck 4 hours and 28 minutes to draw the contest in his favour at 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 6-7(7) at 3:33 am on Wednesday.

Ben Shelton scores the biggest win of his career and a spot in the US Open semifinals! pic.twitter.com/2PCndRLcpL

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2026

Having returned from a wrist injury hiatus of nearly four months that saw him miss the season’s French Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz had a seamless run up until the quarter-final match-up against an in-form Shelton, whom he had beaten in all three previous meetings.

Grand Slam streak ends

The Spaniard, who became the youngest male player ever to complete the Career Grand Slam earlier this year, marked his first Grand Slam defeat in 19 matches since the Wimbledon final against Jannik Sinner in mid-2025. He had then gone onto beat Jannik Sinner in the 2025 US Open final and the Australian Open final earlier this year.

Djokovic to Fritz: Seven top-10 seeds are already out of the US Open

Alcaraz’s defeat meant that only two of the top 10 seeds in the men’s bracket in the remainder of the tournament. Top seed Alexander Zverev is slated to face in his Botic van de Zandschulp last-eight clash. Meanwhile, the eighth-seeded Shelton will face compatriot Frances Tiafoe in his second US Open semi-final appearance since 2023.