A former Italian player and respected television voice has launched a sharp critique of the US Open after Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz finished their quarter-final clash deep into the early hours at Flushing Meadows.

Shelton beat Alcaraz in a fifth-set tiebreak in a headline match on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2026 US Open. The contest did not begin until after 11pm on Tuesday in New York, and the four-hour-and-28-minute battle ended at 3:33am on Wednesday.

That makes it the latest finish in US Open history, surpassing the previous mark set by Alcaraz’s five-set quarter-final win over Jannik Sinner in 2022, which ended at 2:50am.

Paolo Bertolucci, a former world No 12 and a commentator for Sky in Italy, reacted with a series of posts on X/Twitter and did not hold back in his assessment of the scheduling.

“They’ve decided to kill tennis,” wrote Bertolucci, who won six ATP Tour singles titles.

“Over four hours of a match that ends at 3:30 in the morning. Then they despair over absences due to injuries. Shame!!!

“Asking an athlete to perform at 3 a.m. means pursuing a diabolical plan designed to destroy tennis.

“One year without [Holger] Rune and [Jack] Draper. Months in the stands for Alcaraz, [Lorenzo] Musetti, and [Jannik] Sinner. Please, keep it up like this….”

The Shelton-Alcaraz match was not the only late one at this year’s event. Alexander Zverev also went well past midnight in back-to-back five-set wins in the first and second rounds, finishing at 1:55am and 2:15am.

Sofia Kenin’s opening-round victory over Venus Williams began at 12:13am, which set a US Open record for the latest start, and it finished just before 2am.

After Zverev’s second-round win, Greg Rusedski also called for a solution to the problem.

“Well, I think you need to find some sort of solution,” said the 1997 US Open finalist.

“The conundrum you have is, do you have one match from eight o’clock, or one match from seven o’clock?

“When you have a men’s and a women’s match, whichever starts first, somebody’s going past midnight usually — if you get a three set match in the women’s, or if you get a five set match in the men’s.

“And I think it’s brutal because there’s no time limit, and that’s where we need to find the balance.”

Rusedski added: “It’s really tricky for the tournaments, but I think there has to be a solution, because we shouldn’t have athletes playing that late in the evening. There’s no other sport in the world that does it.”

The search for a man to successfully defend the US Open title for the first time since 2008 goes on after Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the 2026 tournament.

Alcaraz arrived in New York as the defending champion after beating Jannik Sinner in four sets in last year’s final to claim his second trophy at Flushing Meadows. He had hoped to become the first man since 2008 to retain the crown, and his early progress suggested he was capable of doing so. After four smooth victories, plenty of observers backed the Spaniard to go deep, even with the obvious question mark over his preparation following a four-month absence from the ATP Tour because of a wrist injury.

In the end, Alcaraz was pushed to the limit by Ben Shelton in a late-night contest that became one of the defining matches of the event. The American prevailed 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7), with the match ending at 3:33am on Wednesday in New York.

The result means the long run without a repeat men’s champion at Flushing Meadows continues. Roger Federer remains the last man to defend the title successfully in 2008.

Federer won five straight titles in New York from 2004 to 2008 and then fell short in 2009, when he was denied in the final by Juan Martin del Potro, who captured his only Grand Slam title with a 3–6, 7–6 (7–5), 4–6, 7–6 (7–4), 6–2 victory.

Since then, every champion has failed to go back-to-back. Alcaraz’s defeat in 2026 simply adds another chapter to that pattern, with a new winner now certain to emerge in New York.

Carlos Alcaraz was candid after his 2026 US Open title defence came to a close with a dramatic five-set defeat to Ben Shelton.

The No 2 seed lost 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) to eighth seed Shelton in the quarter-finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The contest ran for four hours and 28 minutes and finished at 3:33am in New York, the latest ending in US Open history.

The result also snapped two impressive runs for Alcaraz. His 18-match winning streak at Grand Slams ended, as did his 12-match streak in matches decided by a fifth set.

After the match, the 23-year-old Spaniard described himself as “happy” and “proud.” He said, “Well, as I said before the tournament began, my expectation was to go there, compete, play in these kinds of matches, for me, being healthy,” said the 23-year-old Spaniard.

He added, “So, it was close. It was close. So, I’m just a little bit disappointed about not getting the win, but I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought.

“After the third set, physically I was really tired, but I found a way to push myself up and physically give extra.

“In the fifth set, I just started to feel better and better. But I was playing against someone that is a beast. Shelton is an unbelievable player and powerful. He just managed how to play really well in every situation, so credit to him.

“But I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.”

Alcaraz was later asked about the fifth-set tiebreak and said Shelton’s serve was decisive.

“Well, the serve is a really good weapon in these kind of situations. But sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,” said the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

He continued, “I remember the last [fifth set] tiebreak that I played was in Paris, it was an unbelievable game that I played during that moment.

“This time, when you’re trying to fight, and trying to overcome all the problems that you might have, physically tired a lot.

“And obviously, when he’s serving, he puts a lot of pressure on you. You’re thinking about trying to put the return in, and it’s an unkonwn that, if you’re gonna play the point or he’s gonna get a free point with the serve.

“So, I think in these moments, he takes a lot of advantage with the serve. Not any excuse, but I would say this is an important weapon in these moments.”