Carlos Alcaraz praised for his reaction after US Open defeat, ‘that’s so special’

His impressive US Open run was finally ended by Ben Shelton, with the pair having played the latest US Open finish ever at well after 3am local time.

Despite the defeat, Alcaraz has now drawn praise from former ATP player Sam Querrey for his admirable reaction in the immediate aftermath.

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Carlos Alcaraz labelled the best loser on tour after his US Open exit

Querrey said on the Nothing Major Show: “We’ve got to give… not that Alcaraz needs a shoutout.

“But like five and a half months off, came here, no one thought he would come here. Absolutely tears through three rounds.

“Is a warrior two nights ago against Ben, played four hours, 30 minutes. And he walked off the court, smile on his face, waved to the crowd, amazing Instagram posts, congratulating Ben.

“There’s not a better loser on the tour than Carlos Alcaraz. Truly. He walked off the court and I feel like he, in his own head, was like, ‘I enjoyed this. I love this. Like, thank you New York, that was a magical moment’.

“And that’s so special. Very few athletes across all sports have the reactions that Carlos has after losing matches.”

Adding his thoughts, John Isner said: “I agree. He loses with such unbelievable class. And it’s kind of like the all-time greats do.”

And concurring, their fellow former player Steve Johnson commented: “He just has fun. It’s very commendable.”

It’s a very appropriate assessment of Alcaraz, who does indeed act with the utmost class whether he wins or loses.

Of course, he wins much more than he loses, but the Spaniard is a superb ambassador for the sport every time.

Sam Querrey noticed Carlos Alcaraz missing forehands vs Ben Shelton

Querrey and Johnson also delved deep into the US Open quarterfinal, which Shelton won in five sets after four hours and 28 minutes.

Querrey said of the epic 6-7(5-7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7) clash: “I thought Carlos was going to win the match, straight up.

“And I’m sure most people did. And why wouldn’t you think that based on what had happened in the past and how Carlos was playing.

‘But even though that first set Ben didn’t win it, you could tell he was kind of up for the challenge. He was matching Carlos on the ground strokes and he was returning well and Carlos wasn’t necessarily getting out ahead of the points.

“And the athleticism from both guys, again I’m just talking first set right now, was amazing. The crowd was getting their money’s worth with the movement, the shot-making, both guys.

“And it was awesome. And when Carlos won that first set, in my head I’m like he’s got him now. And then Ben bounced back and Carlos started missing forehands.

“And then it was 6-1. And then Ben wins that third set. Then I went to sleep because I couldn’t stay up that late, honestly.

“But one of the things that Carlos does that no one else does, in the second and third set, Carlos was missing forehands like crazy, hitting them as hard as he could.

“He doesn’t scale down to like 80% and work his way back up. He just keeps firing. And I guess in his head is going, ‘all right, it’s going to come eventually, and when it comes, I can’t be beaten’.”

Johnson then added: “It’s absolutely insane. This is what he needed to do, right? I mean, the only thing he hadn’t done is beat… I think he’s never beaten a top three guy in a Slam.

“Obviously he hasn’t had that many opportunities. But to do it against Carlos, this was a massive, massive, massive win.

“He was struggling to beat these guys or any of these guys in two out of three, let alone three out of five, which is a whole other animal.

“Super impressive with how the fourth set got away from him, and then early in the fifth, faces that break point, buckles down.

“Then you get to a fifth-set tiebreaker, it’s to 10, so you’ve got a little bit more wiggle room. He’s down a mini-break.

“I’m pretty sure 5-3, my brain is scrambled at the moment. I’m pretty sure he was down 5-3 second serve.

“So he loses that point, he goes down double mini-break in a tiebreaker, that might be too much. But how insanely clutch from Ben to get that job done.

“I mean, at 3.30 in the morning, I don’t get it. I just don’t get how these guys do it. It’s truly remarkable. What a match, this is what tennis needs. Carlos is electric.

“Maybe he didn’t feel his best in there, in the middle of the match. But Ben played insane and he made a ginormous step to his ascent into tennis, even higher than he already is, I think.”

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz praised for having exactly the same talent as Roger Federer, ‘it’s insane’

It truly was an epic battle, with both players deserving plenty of praise for how they handled themselves on the court, particularly so late at night.

While Alcaraz will now look to dust himself off and bounce back, Shelton must recover quickly for his semifinal against Frances Tiafoe.

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