Carlos Alcaraz Loses to Ben Shelton, Updated US Open Men's Tennis Bracket After Tuesday Results

Reigning U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz was upset 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7), in the quarterfinals of the 2026 U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, on Tuesday night.

Following a late start, the match poured over into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and it came to an end about four-and-a-half hours after it started, concluding at 3:33 a.m. ET, per ESPN.

For the eighth-seeded Shelton, it was arguably the biggest win of his career, as he took down the No. 2 seed and No. 3 player in the world to reach his third Grand Slam semifinal.

A career Grand Slam winner, the 23-year-old Alcaraz made his long-awaited return at the U.S. Open after missing both the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury.

Despite the long layoff, he was considered the odds-on favorite, especially with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner not playing in the tournament due to a knee ailment.

Alcaraz ran into the hard-serving Shelton in the quarters, though, and he did so on Shelton's home soil.

Seemingly feeding off the atmosphere, Shelton was the better player on Tuesday night, breaking Alcaraz's serve five times compared to the three breaks Alcaraz got on him.

On top of that, Shelton committed only 35 unforced errors over the course of the five-set match, whereas Alcaraz made an uncharacteristic 53 unforced errors.

With No. 11 Frances Tiafoe beating fellow American Alex Michelsen earlier Tuesday, it means an American player is guaranteed to play in the U.S. Open men's singles final.

Either Shelton or Tiafoe will become the first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Taylor Fritz at the 2024 U.S. Open. Before that, Andy Roddick was the last American man to make it to a Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon 2009.

Roddick is also the most recent American men's Grand Slam singles champion, winning the U.S. Open back in 2003.

After squeaking past Alcaraz, Shelton is favored to take down Tiafoe and reach his first Grand Slam singles final where he would meet one of top-seeded Alexander Zverev, No. 28 Alexander Blockx, Botic van de Zandschulp or Karen Khachanov.

Following his marathon victory over Alcaraz, Shelton is scheduled to be back in action Friday when he and Tiafoe determine which American will go on to play for the U.S. Open title.