Going against No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton knew he’d have to be on his best game, but it was small mistakes that cost him a spot in the 2025 French Open Quarterfinals.
In the first set, Shelton’s serve was working well. He had Alcaraz on his toes to start the match and was setting the tone with powerful shots. However, the American blew a 4-1 lead in the set tiebreaker and other set point opportunities that prevented him from taking an early lead in the match.
In the following set, Shelton had a strong first game but went 0/6 in break point opportunities, letting Alcaraz take the lead to start the set. Later in the set, Shelton allowed the 2024 French Open winner to break, putting the American in a deep 2-0 deficit that he was unable to dig out of.
Again, in the fourth set, Shelton was broken twice, putting him in another tough spot that he could not climb out of, dropping the fourth set 6-4.
These small mistakes resulted in Shelton losing to Alcaraz on Sunday, June 1 in the Round of 16 in men’s singles at the 2025 French Open. The defending champion defeated the former UF tennis star in four sets 7-6 (10-8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Last time out on the courts, Shelton had his most dominant outing at the 2025 French Open. The American defeated Italy’s Matteo Gigante in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, to mark his deepest run at Roland Garros. The former SEC Player of the year came into Sunday’s contest with victories in six of his last eight singles matches within the pro circuit.
The defending tournament champion Alcaraz has been on a hot streak as of late. The Spaniard came into Sunday with a 30-5 singles record in the pro circuit this year, including 20 victories in his last 21 matches.
In the third round, Alcaraz faced Damir Džumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite taking the first two sets 6-1 each, Alcaraz was in for a battle as Džumhur won the third set and led 3-1 in the fourth set. Ultimately, the El Palmar native took back control to win the fourth set 6-4 to punch his ticket into the round of 16.
Sunday’s competition gave Shelton a chance to win his first match against Alcaraz, with the American falling short in their two previous meetings.
The match would start with a first set filled with holds. Shelton took the first game, which he elected to serve in, and then Alcaraz followed by taking the second game. Neither Alcaraz nor Shelton secured a break point, with only one break point opportunity for the two combined. They continued to trade holds up to 6-6, leading to a tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker, the two continued to go back and forth. Shelton had 4-1 lead and a handful of set points, but ultimately Alcaraz pulled through to prevail in the tiebreaker 10-8 and first set 7-6.
The second set was also tight at first. In the first game, Alcaraz and Shelton were at deuce and traded the advantage before Alcaraz held the American, despite Shelton having six break point opportunities within the game.
They continued to trade holds until Alcaraz led 4-3 in the set. The reigning tournament champion secured the first break point of the contest, and took the remaining two games to win the second set 6-3 and take a 2-0 lead on the day.
Shelton got himself back into the match with a strong third set. The Atlanta native grabbed his first break point of the match to take a 3-1 lead. Alcaraz crawled back and tied the set at four to put Shelton’s back against the wall. However, the former Gator stepped up to the occasion and took the following two games, including Shelton’s second successful break point in the contest.
With a 6-4 third set win, Shelton marked his first ever won set against Alcaraz and a pivotal point in keeping his run at Roland Garros alive.
Alcaraz’s experience came into play in the fourth set. While there were signs of frustration from the Spanish star, he kept his composure and dominated. Alcaraz broke Shelton twice in the set to cruise to a 6-4 set and match win.
With the result, Shelton’s record against top-5 opponents in the pro tennis circuit dropped to 0-10, with three of those losses on clay courts.
For Alcaraz, he will face American Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals Wednesday June 3, while Shelton will rest until the next circuit tournaments that will then lead him to Wimbledon in July.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Summer 2025 women's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
