Alcaraz eliminated at 3:33 a.m., US Open opens up to an American finalist

The men’s draw at the US Open, under way from August 30 to September 13, 2026 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, has emptied of its two most prominent names at opposite moments of the tournament. Novak Djokovic went out in the first round, beaten by Mariano Navone. Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Ben Shelton by a score of 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6, in a match that ended at 3:33 a.m. Eastern time: the latest finish in the tournament’s history, as documented by the live coverage from CBS Sports.

The timing is not folklore. A fifth set decided by a tiebreak at half past three in the morning is the product of scheduling that accumulates delays during the evening session, and it falls on players who will have to return to the court just a few dozen hours later.

The other quarterfinal in the top half of the draw produced a full comeback: Frances Tiafoe overcame Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 after losing the first two sets (Yahoo Sports). Friday, September 11’s men’s semifinals therefore pit Shelton and Tiafoe against each other on one side, and Alexander Zverev — the draw’s top seed — against Karen Khachanov, who is not a seed, on the other.

This is the day’s most historically significant fact: in one of the two semifinals, two American players face each other, and no American player has won a Grand Slam tournament since Andy Roddick’s victory at the 2004 US Open. A final featuring at least one American is therefore guaranteed; the rest depends on the other semifinal.

The women’s draw is already settled. The semifinals were played on September 10: Aryna Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2, while Elena Rybakina came from behind to beat Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 (Bleacher Report). The final will therefore be Sabalenka-Rybakina.

The match is worth more than the title. Rybakina, already the winner of the 2026 Australian Open, will become world number one from the following Monday: the change at the top of the rankings is confirmed regardless of Saturday’s outcome. For the women’s season this means that the Kazakh player arrives at the New York final after having won the Australian Open of the same year, and that the rankings register the shift a month ahead of the calendar’s close.

Reading the two draws. The men’s draw has lost its usual points of reference in two different ways — one in the first round, one in the quarterfinals — and delivers four semifinalists of whom only one is the top seed and one is not even among the favorites of the draw. The women’s draw, by contrast, has produced a final between the winner of the 2026 Australian Open and a player who eliminated the home favorite. It is the difference between a draw that broke down and one that made selections.

What we don’t know. The available material does not indicate the time of today’s men’s semifinals or of the women’s final, does not report the players’ physical condition after the overnight marathon, and contains no statements from those involved. It is not indicated what effect the match that ended at 3:33 a.m. had on the scheduling of subsequent sessions.

The tournament closes on September 13; the first verdict already written is that of the women’s world rankings, which will change at the top on the Monday after the final.