Shelton stuns Alcaraz in record-breaking 3:33am finish

Ben Shelton produced the biggest win of his career in the early hours of Wednesday, beating defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal that finished at 3:33am and became the latest-ending match in US Open history.

The American, seeded eighth, defeated the second-seeded Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in a contest lasting four and a half hours, closing out the deciding tie-break with a 146mph ace.

The result ended Alcaraz's 18-match winning streak at Grand Slam tournaments and sent Shelton through to his third major semi-final, where he will face fellow American Frances Tiafoe.

The United States is guaranteed a finalist on Sunday and is chasing its first men's major title since Andy Roddick's win at Flushing Meadows in 2003.

By the time the match ended, Arthur Ashe Stadium was estimated to be around a third full. Television commentator John McEnroe told viewers the match was on course to set a new record for the latest finish in tournament history.

The result added to a run of extremely late finishes that has drawn criticism of how organisers have managed the schedule at this year's tournament.

The event has already recorded three finishes after 2am in its first six days, along with two further matches ending after 1am.

Those included a first-round match in which Novak Djokovic was eliminated after four hours and 36 minutes, pushing Venus Williams's following match to a 12:13am start – the latest start time in US Open history.

Williams described the situation at the time as "not ideal". Shelton had also been involved in an earlier late finish, beating Denis Shapovalov in a second-round match that ended at 2:07am.

Around five and a half hours after the Shelton–Alcaraz match concluded, the US Open's social media account posted a lighthearted response acknowledging the late finish, offering fans a template letter to give to employers explaining an absence from work on Wednesday.