Alcaraz stands between the US and its first home men's champion since 2003

Carlos Alcaraz, the defending US Open champion, meets eighth-seeded American Ben Shelton in Tuesday's quarter-final, with the Spaniard occupying the same half of the draw as two other American hopefuls, Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen.

Should the seven-time Grand Slam champion beat Shelton, he would face either Tiafoe or Michelsen in the semi-finals. Progressing further to the final would mean Alcaraz has personally denied the United States a first men's singles champion at Flushing Meadows since Andy Roddick's win in 2003.

Alcaraz said he expects to play in front of 24,000 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the crowd largely behind 23-year-old Shelton, who is chasing only his second US Open semi-final appearance.

American men have regularly reached Grand Slam semi-finals this century, but only Taylor Fritz has made the final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer in 2006 - Fritz was runner-up two years ago against Jannik Sinner. Eleventh seed Tiafoe previously lost an all-American semi-final to Fritz and was also knocked out by Alcaraz at the quarter-final stage in 2022. The 28-year-old is now bidding for a third chance at reaching his maiden major final, arriving in form after reaching the Cincinnati final last month.

Michelsen, 22 and ranked 46th in the world, is into his first Grand Slam quarter-final without dropping a set, having previously operated somewhat under the radar compared to higher-profile compatriots like Tiafoe, Shelton and Fritz.

Six American men and women have reached the quarter-finals this year, the best showing since 2002, with three players in each draw. In the women's event, third seed Jessica Pegula faces Emma Navarro on Tuesday, while Coco Gauff plays Russia's Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday. Unlike the men, American women have found recent final success - Gauff won the title in 2023, while Pegula was runner-up in 2024.