New york: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain suffered a shock 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (7-10) defeat to American Ben Chilton in the quarterfinals of the US Open on Wednesday, ending his bid for a second consecutive Grand Slam title.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the world number three, Alcaraz, lost his US Open title, the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments, in the quarterfinals to ninth-ranked Chilton, in a match that finished after 3:30 a.m. local time in New York on Wednesday.

After a match lasting 4 hours and 28 minutes, Chilton ended Alcaraz’s 18-match winning streak in Grand Slam tournaments, bringing to a close the Spaniard’s return to the courts for the first time after an absence of more than four months due to injury.

The 23-year-old will be playing in his second Grand Slam semi-final, following his first appearance in 2023 when his run ended at the hands of Novak Djokovic. His next opponent will be fellow Spaniard Frances Tiafoe, the 12th seed, who staged a comeback from two sets down to defeat fellow American Alex Mikkelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10-6), after also trailing 0-3 in the fifth set.

Tuesday’s match, which became the longest morning match in US Open history, was the fourth between two players aged 23.