Carlos Alcaraz Criticizes Early Morning Finish at US Open

Match end time: 3:33 a.m. (new US Open record)
Previous record: 2:50 a.m. (Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner, 2022)
Quarterfinal start time: ~8:20 p.m. (delayed by over an hour)
ESPN viewership: 1.3 million average viewers

During a press event in London, Carlos Alcaraz expressed his displeasure with the late finish of his quarterfinal match against Ben Shelton at the US Open. The match ended at 3:33 a.m., setting a new record for the latest finish in tournament history, surpassing the previous mark of 2:50 a.m. from 2022.

Alcaraz described the toll such a late end takes on players. "For an athlete finishing at 3:30 in the morning, it means we had to leave the courts at 4:30, then back to the hotel," he said. "You don’t go to bed until 6:30 or 7 in the morning. To recover for the next match, the person you play has an advantage."

The marathon five-set showdown kept tennis fans riveted as Shelton managed to upset the former world No. 1. Delays earlier in the day caused the quarterfinal's night session to begin about an hour later than planned, around 8:20 p.m.

Alcaraz lamented the timing, noting its impact on attendance and viewership. "It is a shame a match like this didn’t reach a lot of people because they have to go to bed, they have to work in the morning," he said. "If that match had started at 7 or 8 p.m., at the maximum finishing at 11, the stadium would have been packed. A lot had to miss it because of the schedule." Even so, ESPN drew an average of 1.3 million viewers for the match.

Response from USTA

USTA director Craig Tiley addressed concerns about late finishes earlier this month in an interview with Sky Sports. He remarked, "I hear from a lot of people that it finishes too late and then I say, OK, and your suggestion is? I don’t get anything. You can’t control the length of the match."