Alcaraz loses title.. and Sabalenka in the semi-finals

After a match that ended at 3:33 AM local time, making it the latest-finishing match in the history of the US tournament after lasting four hours and 28 minutes, Alcaraz's winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments ended at 18 consecutive matches, with his first loss to Shelton, also 23 years old, out of their four meetings.

Shelton will play in the semi-finals for the second time at Flushing Meadows, following his first appearance in 2023, where he will meet his compatriot Frances Tiafoe, the eleventh seed, who on Tuesday overcame a two-set deficit to secure an exciting victory over another compatriot, Alex Michelsen, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-10), after having also trailed 0-3 in the fifth set.

Shelton said while thanking the New York crowd for staying so late, "I always say this is the greatest sports city in the world. And I say this is the greatest stadium in the world."

He added, "Sharing the court with Carlos is also a great honor, and I cherish every moment I spend here."

After a very evenly matched first set that Alcaraz won in a tie-break, the Spaniard's level dropped significantly, and he lacked precision in his forehand shots, committing 31 unforced errors out of 53 in the match, while Shelton continued to land his powerful shots.

Alcaraz's performance continued to decline in the third set, with Shelton increasing the power of his shots, while the Spaniard struggled to return them to his opponent's court.

Alcaraz managed to stop a streak of nine consecutive games won by Shelton, and even had a break point opportunity when the American was serving for the set with a 5-3 lead, but the American forced his opponent to run all over the court, eventually succeeding in clinching the set after the defending champion succumbed to the pressure.

Shelton then showed some signs of fatigue in the fourth set, which Alcaraz exploited to score important points before closing out the set to love.

After that, the match became extremely tense, and the Spaniard had a break point opportunity at 2-2, then Shelton had a similar chance when he led 4-3.

However, the decisive fifth set reached a tie-break (a super tie-break decided by the first to ten points), and a new error by Alcaraz gave his American opponent the chance to serve for the match, which he utilized to seal the victory in the early hours of the morning with an ace that reached a speed of more than 238 kilometers per hour, his seventh of the match.

Sabalenka suffers immensely

For her part, Sabalenka needed two hours and 22 minutes to qualify for the semi-finals for the sixth year in a row.

The Belarusian said after the grueling match, which she ended with an ace, "What a battle. I pushed myself to the limit in this match, especially in the third set. Honestly, I thought the match was over (in Noskova's favor), and that helped me play more freely and take risks with my shots."

The Belarusian, who will relinquish the world number one ranking to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina if the latter reaches the semi-finals at the expense of China's Zheng Qinwen, will face in her next test American Jessica Pegula, the third seed, who defeated her compatriot Emma Navarro, the 26th seed, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals for the second year in a row.

The quarter-final match between Sabalenka and Noskova, who reached this stage for the first time in the US tournament, was a rematch of the 2023 Adelaide final and the semi-final of the Indian Wells 1000-point tournament this season, where the Belarusian also emerged victorious, but in straight sets on both occasions.

Sabalenka thought she had made the difference in the first set when she broke her opponent's serve in the fourth game to lead 3-1, then 4-1 on her own serve.

However, the Czech returned to the match and broke back in the ninth game on her first opportunity, on her way to forcing a 5-5 tie and then 6-6, leading to a tie-break that the Belarusian dominated completely, leading 6-0 before winning it 7-1.

Unlike the first set, Sabalenka seemed unable to make a difference despite having a break point in the fifth game that she did not capitalize on, allowing Noskova to lead 3-2 and then 5-2 after breaking the Belarusian's serve in the sixth game.

The Czech then had a chance to close it out 6-2 on Sabalenka's serve without converting it, but she won the ninth game on her serve to finish it 6-3, forcing a decisive third set which she started with a break point in the second game that she did not utilize, paying the price and falling behind 2-4 after losing her serve in the fifth game.

But she did not give up and equalized at 4-4 on her opponent's serve, then led 5-4 and 6-5, before heading to a tie-break that the Belarusian won 10-7 with an ace, along with the grueling match.

The date is set for a semi-final rematch between Sabalenka and Pegula, who lost the 2024 final to the Belarusian, and whose journey ended against her in last year's semi-final.