Ben Shelton is not underselling the man on the other side of the net. After dismantling Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round to set up a Tuesday night quarter-final with Carlos Alcaraz, the American was asked what he had made of the tennis the defending champion has produced on his comeback.

“I think the level that he’s been playing at is really, really impressive. To not play for five months, then do what he’s done so far this tournament has been superhuman.”

“I think it’s going to be fireworks on Tuesday night.”

The five months Shelton referred to have a specific date: 15 April, when Alcaraz withdrew from the Barcelona Open with a right wrist injury. Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open then all passed him by, with the target set on the US Open defence throughout.

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What the return has looked like is a run to the quarter-finals capped by a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tommy Paul in which the second seed struck 33 winners. Alcaraz called it the cleanest match of his fortnight.

“I tried to play my game. Tommy is such a talented player. His shots are pretty dangerous and sometimes it’s really difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I just tried to be ready for a battle and tried to be aggressive all the time.”

No US Open defence since Federer, 2008

No man has defended a US Open singles title since Roger Federer completed his fifth in a row in 2008. If Alcaraz gets past Shelton and two more opponents, he would end that 18-year drought, and he would also do something no player has done in the Open Era: defend Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces, having already retained Wimbledon in 2024 and Roland Garros in 2025.

Shelton arrives off the Montreal Masters title

The head-to-head reads 3-0 to Alcaraz, but Shelton has never come into a Grand Slam quarter-final looking more dangerous. He won the ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal in August, and he got through Tsitsipas without facing a break point on serve, hitting 12 aces in 1 hour 52 minutes.

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The quarter-final is the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday. The winner meets Alexander Zverev or Botic van de Zandschulp in the semi-finals.

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