Former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick is defending the tournament’s late-night scheduling after Ben Shelton’s marathon five-set win over Carlos Alcaraz stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning, wrapping up in a tiebreaker shortly after 3:30 a.m. ET.
The victory was the biggest of Shelton’s career and made him the first American man to beat either Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner at a Grand Slam. Combined with Frances Tiafoe’s five-set win over fellow American Alex Michelsen in the other quarterfinal, the result locked in at least one American finalist at the 2026 U.S. Open. No American-born man has won the men’s singles title at Flushing Meadows since Roddick himself took it in 2003.
Speaking on his “Served” podcast, Roddick addressed the wave of criticism directed at the tournament over its scheduling and logistics, and said he had no regrets about how the night played out.
“I know a lot of the comments are, you know, ‘How do you finish at four in the morning?’ and all of that. Well, every match goes to a match tiebreak except for one. And you’ve got to get 25,000 people out of a stadium responsibly, and you’ve got to get 25,000 people in responsibly. So, I hear a lot of complaining. I don’t hear a lot of proposed solutions.”
Roddick said an earlier start simply wasn’t in the cards because of the length of Tiafoe and Michelsen’s match, and he defended the night session as a core part of the tournament’s identity, even while acknowledging that a five-hour match tests fans’ patience — a concern also raised by sports podcaster Bill Simmons.
“Starting earlier wasn’t possible because of Frances and Mickelson’s match. And so, you have to have a night session at the US Open. It’s one of the things that we all love. And they’ve been on the wrong side of luck. Now, I know there are some people who have said shorter format. And I know Bill Simmons made the point that this is ridiculous, that we’re playing too long. He’s normally well-thought-out in his thoughts. I don’t disagree with the premise that, like, ‘Five hours is too much. I’m bored.'”
Roddick argued that the grueling, unpredictable length of best-of-five matches is part of what makes the sport what it is.
“7-6 in the fifth last night for Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz in that match, where Tiafoe is down two sets, and the guy’s serving for it — I kind of like the fact that we have a sport where you get into these long-form matches, and it’s the hardest thing on earth. It’s the hardest sport in the world. If you take that away, can we lay that claim anymore? I don’t know.”
Still, he granted that there’s a practical case to be made for trimming the format, particularly for the people working behind the scenes long after fans have gone home.
“I understand all the pragmatists out there that say we should have a shorter format. I understand the reasons for it. I understand that it’s inconvenient for Sean to be up until 4:00 a.m., you know, watching this match while he’s editing last night’s show. I understand that some people have to go to sleep because, like you, I had to go to sleep to protect my workday today. I understand all of the rational arguments.”
Tiafoe and Shelton are set to face each other Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, named for 1968 champion Arthur Ashe, who remains the last Black American man to win the U.S. Open men’s singles title.
