Key quotes from the 10th day of the US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in Flushing Meadows on Tuesday:
"It was close. It was close. So I'm just not going to be disappointed about not getting the win at the end. I'm just proud about myself, about how I fought. I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed."
– Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, ousted from the US Open in five sets by Ben Shelton in Alcaraz's first tournament back from a four-month injury layoff.
"I'm tired. That was a war, epic match, so physical. But, yeah, the most enjoyable match that I've had in my career, for sure."
– Ben Shelton after beating Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in a match that lasted until 3:34am.
"It was a really tough, tight battle. I'm just super happy that I really stayed aggressive throughout the whole match, and I really trusted my shots."
– Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka after her come-from-behind victory over Linda Noskova to reach the US Open semifinals.
"I did notice the roof closing right after (a) point, although it started closing even before the point, so it was weird. No one even told us about it. We didn't expect it at all. I knew that the tournament wanted to keep us in the shade and not have us play on the light throughout the whole match, but at the same time it was, like, a crucial point of the match, so I don't know why they started moving it so late."
– Linda Noskova on the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof being closed during her quarterfinal defeat to Aryna Sabalenka.
"It's getting tougher and tougher obviously since the matches are more and more important. I feel like I'm closer and closer to whatever I want to achieve. At the same time, these losses – and wins, as well – I cannot really enjoy either of it. Throughout these tough days, it's a good thing to have, (the ability) to forget about it."
– Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova on the difficulty of accepting defeats like her narrow loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open quarterfinals.
"It's something I'm going to learn from, for sure. I feel I'm not the first guy that's done that, and I'm not going to be the last guy that's done that in a quarterfinal. The nerves played a big part, first time being in a quarterfinal."
– Alex Michelsen after he fell to Frances Tiafoe in a five-set quarterfinal in which Michelsen served for the match at 5-4 in the third set.
"The way it happened, right? Two sets to love down, him serving for it. I'm down breaks early in the fifth. There were so many times where I was down. I could have been down a double break in the third. It was crazy. It was definitely a Braveheart-type win."
– Frances Tiafoe after storming from behind to beat Alex Michelson to reach the semifinals.