Five-set tennis is under attack. Killing it would be a colossal unforced error | Andrew Lawrence

Five-set matches are physically punishing, occasionally absurd and increasingly under threat.

They also produce much of what makes grand slam tennis great Tuesday night’s quarter-final match between Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz had everything a US Open spectacle could ask for: huge stakes, knife-edge drama, top-shelf competition and an American hero who comes through in the end. The only fault to find was really the matter of time. The first ball wasn’t struck until 11. 05 in the evening, and Shelton’s clinching ace didn’t come until 3. 33 in the morning – marking, after a total of 4hr 28min on court, the latest-ending US Open match by a whopping 43 minutes. Somewhat…