What losing streak did Ben Shelton end by beating Carlos Alcaraz at the 2026 US Open?

Ben Shelton ended a 17-match losing streak against Top 3 opponents by beating Carlos Alcaraz at the 2026 US Open. Shelton’s quarterfinal victory came after a long run of defeats against players ranked among the world’s three best.

The match was a major breakthrough because Alcaraz entered the tournament as one of the leading men’s players. Shelton advanced from the quarterfinal, while the result also helped him reach the US Open final.

A Top 3 opponent means a player ranked No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3 in the relevant ranking context. The statistic does not mean Shelton had lost seventeen consecutive matches overall; it referred specifically to that elite ranking group.

Shelton then faced Alexander Zverev in the final. Zverev won the championship match, but Shelton’s victory over Alcaraz remained one of the tournament’s defining upsets.