US OPEN

September 9, 2026

Carlos Alcaraz

Quick Quotes

B. SHELTON/C. Alcaraz

6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6

Q. Carlos, commiserations. Not the way you wanted the match to come to an end this evening, but how do you reflect on your performance out there over five tough sets and the latest finish in US Open history?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, as I said before the tournament began, my expectation was to go there, you know, compete, play in these kind of matches for me being healthy.

It was close. It was close. So I'm just not going to be disappointed about don't getting the win at the end. You know, I'm just happy. I'm just proud about myself, about how I fought.

You know, after the third set, physically I was really tired, but you know, I found a way to push myself up and, you know, physically giving extra.

In the fifth set I just started to feel better and better, but you know, I was playing against one of the -- he is a beast. Shelton is an unbelievable player, powerful. He just managed how to play really, really well in every situation, so credit to him.

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

Q. You won one of those big deciding tiebreaks before in Paris. What made the difference for him this time, do you think?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, the serve is a really good weapon in these kind of situations, but you know sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

I remember, yeah, the last tiebreak, you know, that I played, it was in Paris. It was an unbelievable game that I played in that moment.

This time, I mean, when you are trying to fight and trying to overcome all the problems you might have physically, tired a lot, and obviously when, you know, he is serving, he puts a lot of pressure on you.

You thinking about, all right, trying to put the return in. You know, it's an unknown if you are going to play the point or if he's going to get a free point with the serve. 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 those moments.