Shelton Shocks Alcaraz at 3:33 a.m., Gauff Survives Andreeva as US Open Quarterfinals Deliver Drama on Both Sides of the Draw

The quarterfinal round of the 2026 US Open delivered exactly the chaos a wide-open men's draw promised, while the top of the women's bracket largely held serve on its way to a semifinal round stacked with contenders. With Jannik Sinner sidelined by a knee injury and Novak Djokovic gone in the first round, the men's draw cracked wide open, and it was Ben Shelton who produced the signature moment of the fortnight, outlasting two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set epic that didn't end until 3:33 a.m. On the women's side, the top five seeds all survived into the quarterfinals, and four of them kept rolling toward a semifinal Thursday that will decide who plays for the title.

ATP Quarterfinals: Alcaraz Falls, Zverev and Khachanov Set Up New Semifinal Pairing

No. 8 Ben Shelton def. No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6

Playing deep into the early morning brought out the best in Shelton, who reeled off consecutive 6-1, 6-3 sets to seize control after dropping the opener. Alcaraz began over-hitting in the closing stages, sending shots long and wide as fatigue set in after a physically taxing match. Alcaraz forced a decider by racing through the fourth set 6-1, but Shelton regrouped to close it out in a deciding tiebreak, ending the defending champion's title defense and marking his first career win over the Spaniard.

No. 11 Frances Tiafoe def. Alex Michelsen, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6

Tiafoe dropped the first two sets to the 46th-ranked Michelsen before flipping the match, feeding off a pro-American Flushing Meadows crowd to win three straight sets and complete the comeback. The result guaranteed at least one American man a spot in the final four — notable given that no American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick's 2004 US Open triumph.

Alexander Zverev def. Botic van de Zandschulp — advances to the semifinals

Zverev, the reigning French Open champion and Wimbledon finalist, had needed five sets in each of his first two matches before finding smoother form in the second week. Van de Zandschulp arrived off the back of a five-hour, 13-minute win over lucky loser Arthur Gea — one of the longest matches in US Open history — but Zverev's superior serving proved decisive as the German advanced to a first Grand Slam semifinal since his 2020 US Open final run stalled at that same stage.

Karen Khachanov def. Alexander Blockx — advances to the semifinals

Blockx, a 21-year-old Belgian ranked 34th in the world, became the first Belgian man ever to reach a US Open quarterfinal, doing so while battling a rib injury that hampered his serve throughout the second week. Khachanov, who needed a fifth-set decider to eliminate American Learner Tien in the previous round, continued his own surprise run to reach the semifinals for the first time since his Wimbledon final appearance in 2025.

ATP Quarterfinal Snapshot

Match	Winner	Score	Duration / Key Note
QF1	Ben Shelton (8)	6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6	Ended 3:33 a.m. ET; first win vs. Alcaraz
QF2	Frances Tiafoe (11)	5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6	Rallied from two sets down
QF3	Alexander Zverev	Advanced in straight/close sets	QF at all four 2026 majors
QF4	Karen Khachanov	Advanced	First major SF since Wimbledon 2025

WTA Quarterfinals: Chalk Mostly Holds as Sabalenka, Pegula, Gauff and Rybakina Advance

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka def. No. 6 Linda Noskova, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6

The top seed and two-time major finalist of 2026 was pushed to the brink by Noskova, needing tiebreaks in both the first and deciding sets to escape with the win and keep alive her bid for a first major title of the season.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula def. No. 26 Emma Navarro, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Pegula dropped the opening set before finding her range, breaking serve at key moments in the second and third sets to close out the all-American matchup and set up a semifinal date with Sabalenka.

No. 2 Elena Rybakina def. Zheng Qinwen — advances to the semifinals

Zheng, unseeded and ranked outside the top 100 after an injury-hit 2025, had already produced two comebacks from 0-5 set deficits earlier in the tournament and pushed Rybakina early with a crucial break. The Australian Open champion answered with two breaks in the second set and another in the third to close out the win. The victory also confirmed Rybakina will overtake Sabalenka for the world No. 1 ranking once the tournament concludes, regardless of how the top seed fares the rest of the way.

No. 4 Coco Gauff def. No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2

Andreeva took the first set by directing more than 72% of her shots at Gauff's forehand, a tactic that worked until Gauff leveled with a tiebreak highlighted by the match's longest rally — 39 shots — capped by a well-placed drop shot. Gauff won the tiebreaker to force a third set after trailing 2-6, and the rattled Andreeva had no answer in the decider as the American cruised 6-2. Gauff finished with 12 double faults and 42 unforced errors overall but committed just two errors in the decisive third set, sending her back to the US Open semifinals for the first time since her 2023 title run.

WTA Quarterfinal Snapshot

Match	Winner	Score	Key Note
QF1	Aryna Sabalenka (1)	7-6, 3-6, 7-6	Two tiebreaks to close it out
QF2	Jessica Pegula (3)	3-6, 6-4, 6-3	All-American win over Navarro
QF3	Elena Rybakina (2)	Straight sets after early deficit	Set to become new world No. 1
QF4	Coco Gauff (4)	2-6, 7-6, 6-2	39-shot rally in the second-set tiebreak

Key Storylines Heading Into the Semifinals

The men's draw has been defined by upheaval: with Sinner out injured and Djokovic gone in the first round, four unseeded or lower-seeded men's storylines — Shelton's Alcaraz upset, Tiafoe's comeback, and the breakout runs of Van de Zandschulp and Blockx — have reshaped what looked like a predictable bracket. Zverev's run to a quarterfinal at every major this season stands out as the tournament's most consistent achievement, while Khachanov's return to the final four validates a resurgent second half of his season.

On the women's side, the story has been continuity at the top, punctuated by two closer-than-expected results. Rybakina's run guarantees a changing of the guard at world No. 1 regardless of the outcome in New York, while Gauff's fight back from a set down against Andreeva showed the grit that carried her to the 2023 title. Sabalenka and Pegula, meanwhile, renew a rivalry with major final history behind it.

Also Read: US Open 2026 Semifinals

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