Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz may have put on one of the best US Open quarter-finals in years, but organisers have been criticised after the match finished at 3.33am, the latest finish in US Open history.
Alcaraz had defied concerns over his long layoff due to a wrist injury but came undone against American eighth seed Shelton, who will play countryman Frances Tiafoe for a place in the final.
Alcaraz, 23, struggled with accuracy, making an uncharacteristic 53 unforced errors, and was dragged into a punishing 4hr 28min battle, where Shelton sealed a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) victory.
The match didn’t begin until after 11pm in New York as a result of some extended contests that came before inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
US fan favourite Tiafoe came back from two sets and a break down to defeat compatriot Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6). Then, in the women’s draw, third seed Jessica Pegula came from behind to see off fellow American Emma Navarro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The US Open has a problem of its own making in that organisers use only Arthur Ashe to host four quarter-finals in a single day, rather than spreading the matches across multiple courts as is the case at the other grand slams.
Wimbledon uses Centre Court and Court One for major matches, Roland Garros uses Philippe-Chatrier and Court Suzanne-Lenglen, and the Australian Open uses the Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena.
The US Open could use the Louis Armstrong Stadium but, at a capacity of 14,000, it is significantly smaller than Arthur Ashe, the biggest grand-slam tennis venue at nearly 24,000 seats.
US Open tournament director Eric Butorac recently described handling the schedule as his favourite part of the job. “I see it as being like a jigsaw puzzle,” he told ESPN. But there has been fierce criticism for a situation which saw the players concluding an epic contest in front of some empty seats.
“Tennis, what a sad monster you have become,” wrote courtside photographer Ella Ling on X. “One of the most exciting atmospheres I’ve been a part of tonight, yet a grand exodus of fans after the 1st set – including myself – because who wants to walk the streets of NY at 3am? What other sport is played when we should be asleep?”
Former tennis professional turned coach Mathias Degardin described the scheduling as “disgusting”, writing on X: “Once again, the US Open and the USTA sacrifices tennis for an extra $.”
It is not the first match to make a late start during the tournament. Sofia Kenin’s first-round win over Venus Williams did not begin until after midnight, and the 46-year-old Williams was unhappy with the schedule.
“I just don’t know any other sport where you have to start that late,” she said. “I definitely think there’s room for improvement there. It’s not easy to do in the first round. It’s not easy to do it at 1 or 2am in the morning to try to find your rhythm and play your best.”
Eighteen-time grand slam champion Martina Navratilova was also critical of organisers after Williams’ exit, and called for an end to the practice of holding one men’s and one women’s singles match on Arthur Ashe, back to back, in the evening session.
“It was the latest start for a women’s match ever,” Navratilova said. “After midnight, and it could have been later. Tennis is the only sport that does this. I think it’s crazy.
“I think they need to fix the night session. It’s too late. I think they should play men’s singles and then maybe a doubles match. If you do women’s singles you can still have another doubles match, or another women’s singles. You’ll get four sets of play, minimum.
“Even if you put the women’s match on first and it’s three sets, the guys start by 10pm. If a men’s match goes five sets, you start at midnight. You’re never on the court at midnight and you never start a match at midnight, so it’s counterproductive for everybody, spectators and the players.”
Tournament director Butorac told ESPN he was considering whether the start time of the evening session could be moved to 6pm in order to make more space for two matches to be played back-to-back on Arthur Ashe. But there are concerns that that would leave too little time for the many fans who travel from Manhattan to Flushing Meadows after working in the city.
“In New York, it would be a challenge to start before 7 pm,” he said. “Could we do 6pm? It’s something we’re going to address every year. Obviously we’ve had a couple of late ones to start with. It’s just hard when we really want to hit equality. One men’s match, one women’s match. We feel like 7pm is the right time.”
