Ben Shelton described Carlos Alcaraz as “one of the greatest champions in our sport” after defeating the Spanish icon in a thrilling US Open quarter-final.
The world No 9 downed Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) in a four-hour-and-28-minute battle that finished at 3:33am in Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.
Shelton had lost his previous three encounters with Alcaraz — a seven-time Grand Slam winner, who was the reigning US Open champion.
The 23-year-old American is through to his second US Open semi-final after reaching the same stage in 2023. He will face Frances Tiafoe on Friday.
Here is everything Shelton said in a post-match conversation with reporters.
Q. How are you feeling after five long sets out there?
Shelton: Yeah, I’m tired. You know, that was a war, an epic match. I mean, so physical. And yeah, Carlos, one of the greatest champions in our sport already at 23 years old. It’s always fun being on the court against him. It’s ridiculous some of the stuff he comes up with sometimes. But yeah, the most enjoyable match that I’ve had in my career, for sure.
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Q. Can you go back to right after the first set tiebreak? We’ve seen so many times where Carlos steals one of those sets and then goes on a roll. And like, what do you tell yourself after you’ve worked for 70 minutes [and] got nothing to show for it?
Shelton: No, I was, yeah, I was p***ed. But I broke the last game before the tiebreaker. So that kind of helped my confidence going into the second set. I knew that my serve was only going to get better. And if I’d already dialled in the return to the point that I could break him, I thought my chances were good to get that second set. And once I got rolling in the second set, broke him three times in that set. It was a lot easier to just play and swing more freely.
Q. What was giving you so much success breaking him? You broke him a lot tonight. So what was the key to that?
Shelton: Oh, I mean, I returned really well. I thought I was smart with how I went about my return games. I thought I made him play a lot. I thought I capitalised on him missing, like when he missed his spot. And I didn’t worry or stress too much when he hit his spot, hit on a returnable or an ace. And I think for me to be able to hang in there in the rallies, have a game plan from the ground, and be able to execute that game plan, not be losing all the baseline points also helps with the return.
Q. Seemed like you were on a great wavelength with your dad. Just like a lot of good communication, slapping your hand after you lost one of those crazy points. What was it like having him there in your corner?
Shelton: No, I mean, for us, it was just enjoyable to be a part of that match. Obviously, the level of tennis, how long the match was going, the fight that it was, how even of a match it was back and forth throughout. I think that that’s something that we can appreciate. Win or lose, we’ll have a smile on our face.
Q. Do you think you’ll have enough time to recover before Friday?
Shelton: Two days, yeah, I think I’ll be all right.
