Arthur Ashe Stadium has witnessed countless iconic late-night epics, but what unfolded in the early hours of Wednesday morning redefined tennis endurance. At 3:33 a.m. local time , that's right, 3:33 a.m., not p.m. - after 4 hours and 28 minutes of relentless, high-octane tennis, Ben Shelton closed out the defining win of his career, dethroning defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz: 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) Finishing as the latest-ever match in US Open history, Shelton capped off the marathon fifth-set super-tiebreaker by rocketing a signature 146-mph ace past Alcaraz. With that single swing, the 23-year-old American snapped Alcaraz’s 18-match major winning streak, secured his first-ever triumph over a top-3 opponent, and sent the Flushing Meadows draw into absolute frenzy. The Breakdown: How Shelton Pulled Off the Upset Due to multiple prior five-setters on Ashe—including Frances Tiafoe’s thrilling comeback over Alex Michelsen—...
Novak Djokovic is out of the US Open in the first round. The man who beat him was Mariano Navone, ranked 49th in the world, and it took four hours and thirty-six minutes. This is only the third time a 24-time major singles champion has lost a Grand Slam opening round. The previous occasion was the 2006 Australian Open — twenty years ago almost to the season. At the US Open specifically, it has never happened to him before. 📌 1. Four Hours and Thirty-Six Minutes The match was played on August 30 local time at Flushing Meadows in New York. Final result — Djokovic 2, Navone 3 Sets — 6-7(5-7), 7-5, 6-4, 2-6, 1-6 Duration — 4 hours 36 minutes Djokovic — fourth seed, world number five Navone — Argentina, world number 49 The scoreline looks close until you reach the end of it. The last two sets were 2-6 and 1-6. Djokovic led two sets to one and then won three games across the remainder of the match. ⚔️ 2. How the Match Turned Set by set, it went like this. He lost the f...