Good evening from Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz are preparing to conclude Tuesday's US Open night session with a compelling quarter-final encounter.
Alcaraz arrives as the defending champion and the No. 2 seed, and increasingly demonstrates that any disruption from a wrist injury has been fully resolved. He enters this match riding an 18-match winning streak at grand-slam level, having claimed last year's US Open title and this year's Australian Open crown. His record since the start of the 2025 French Open stands at an extraordinary 31-1 across all majors.
His performance at Flushing Meadows has been equally dominant. Alcaraz holds a 28-3 career record at the US Open, translating to a .903 winning percentage—the highest mark achieved by any man during the Open era, surpassing Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He has reached at least the quarter-finals in five of his six appearances at this venue, capturing the title in 2022 and again in 2025. According to a national sports broadcaster, Alcaraz advanced to this round by defeating Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Yet Shelton represents a formidable challenger rather than an easy opponent. The 23-year-old American has compiled a 12-2 record on hard courts throughout the summer and captured his second Masters 1000 title last month in Montreal without surrendering a single set. During his current run, he has eliminated Hubert Hurkacz, Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas. According to the ATP Tour, Shelton dispatched Tsitsipas in straight sets on Sunday to secure his third major quarter-final appearance.
A significant weakness mars Shelton's record, however. He stands at 0-17 against top-three opponents and has lost all three previous encounters with Alcaraz. Their most recent meeting, at Roland Garros last year, proved at least competitive: Alcaraz prevailed 7-6 (8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Tonight, however, Shelton possesses an advantage absent from those earlier meetings: the full support of Arthur Ashe Stadium's crowd. Shelton first made his mark at this venue three years ago with a semi-final run and will attempt to become only the second American man in the past two decades to defeat a top-three opponent at the US Open.
The path to an all-American semi-final in the bottom half of the draw has already begun to materialise. According to ESPN's live scoreboard, Frances Tiafoe advanced to the semi-finals earlier today by defeating Alex Michelsen in a five-set comeback. Should Shelton prevail tonight, two American men would face each other in Friday's semi-final—a rare occurrence in recent US Open history.
Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro are currently deep into the third set of their quarter-final match on Ashe. Once their contest concludes, approximately 20 minutes will pass before Shelton and Alcaraz take the court. According to the sports schedule, the match is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. ET start time.
What is at stake for each player?
For Alcaraz, this quarter-final represents another opportunity to extend his dominance at the majors and defend his US Open title. A victory would move him closer to a third consecutive grand-slam final appearance and maintain his remarkable winning streak at this level of competition.
For Shelton, this match offers a chance to break through against elite opposition and reach his first US Open semi-final. A win would represent a watershed moment in his career, proving he can compete with and defeat the sport's highest-ranked players on one of tennis's biggest stages.
What happens next?
The winner of tonight's match will advance to the US Open semi-finals later in the week. Should Shelton win, he would face Tiafoe in an all-American semi-final. Should Alcaraz prevail, he would await the winner of the other men's quarter-final bracket.
Key Facts
- Alcaraz holds a 31-1 record at the majors since the 2025 French Open and is the defending US Open champion
- Shelton is 12-2 on hard courts this summer and won the Montreal Masters 1000 title without dropping a set
- Shelton has never defeated a top-three opponent and has lost all three previous meetings with Alcaraz
- Frances Tiafoe's five-set victory over Michelsen earlier today creates the possibility of an all-American semi-final
- The match is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET at Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 9
