Zverev denies Shelton’s dream run to claim second major of the season in New York

Alexander Zverev shattered the American dream in New York, overpowering Ben Shelton in the US Open men’s singles final to claim his second Grand Slam title of the year and his first in Flushing Meadows.

The 29-year-old German defeated Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in three hours and 33 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium, extending the wait for a homegrown men’s champion at the US Open that has lasted since Andy Roddick’s triumph in 2003.[[2]]

A strange finish to a commanding performance

The conclusion to Zverev’s victory was as surreal as his fortnight had been relentless. When a Shelton return sailed long on championship point, Zverev reflexively sent the ball back down the court and walked to the baseline as if preparing for another game.

Only when he lifted his eyes to the big screen and saw the score confirmed did the top seed realise he had, in fact, won the US Open.

“I thought it was 5-1. I knew I’d broke him twice but I thought he’d only won one so I thought, ‘I’m going to have a nice service game and then get tight,’” Zverev said afterwards. “Teachers used to tell you to forget about the score, so I did.”

Experience tells early as Zverev takes control

This was Zverev’s sixth major final and Shelton’s first, and that gulf in experience was evident from the opening game. The American, backed by a partisan 23,000-strong crowd on the stadium named after Arthur Ashe, double-faulted to surrender a break immediately and did so again on set point as the title favourite moved ahead.

Shelton, seeded eighth, could not generate a single break point in the first two sets. Zverev’s serve – long one of the most formidable weapons on tour – was brutal and efficient, repeatedly denying the American any foothold in baseline exchanges.

By contrast, Shelton looked both shaken and stirred in the early stages, the occasion and expectation weighing heavily after two weeks in which he had beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas and, most notably, Carlos Alcaraz to reach Sunday’s showpiece.

Match at a glance

• Result: Alexander Zverev def. Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2
• Venue: Arthur Ashe Stadium, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York
• Duration: 3 hours 33 minutes
• Context: Zverev’s first US Open title, second Grand Slam of the year; Shelton’s first major final; first US men’s finalist at the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2006 and still no US men’s Grand Slam champion since Roddick in 2003.

Shelton’s fightback forces a fourth set

If the opening two sets suggested a one-sided coronation, Shelton refused to allow the final to drift away. After Zverev, unburdened by the “best player never to win a major” tag since lifting the French Open earlier this season, dominated the second-set tie-break, the American finally clawed his way into the contest.

In the third set, Shelton dug in and, for the first time, consistently troubled the German’s delivery. As Zverev’s serve briefly faltered, Shelton created three break – and set – points. The noise inside Arthur Ashe surged, and when he converted the second of them the match sprang fully to life, the American cutting the deficit and sending the final into a fourth set.

The momentum, however, did not carry. Zverev, who has taken full advantage of fitness issues and absences for Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at various points this year, broke early in the fourth to reassert control. From there, he managed the scoreboard with a composure built over years of deep runs at the majors.

Ball-bouncing, time violation and a champion’s focus

Zverev’s serving routine became an unlikely subplot of the night. Across more than 23 hours on court at this US Open, statistics showed he had spent roughly three of them simply bouncing the ball between serves, a ritual that finally brought a time violation in the final.

Yet even that warning did not disrupt his rhythm when it mattered. He closed out the match, and with it Grand Slam title number two, after three hours and 33 minutes, needing only a brief pause to process that he was, at last, the champion in New York.

Playing and winning with Type 1 Diabetes

Zverev’s achievement carries a dimension that extends beyond tennis. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as a child, he managed his condition throughout the tournament and was seen using an insulin pen in his leg during the fourth set of the final.

Reflecting on that journey, he paid tribute to his family. “When your four-year-old son gets diagnosed with diabetes and doctors tell you that life and sports will be very limited, it takes a very strong mother to say ‘my son will be whatever wants to be’,” he said.

For international audiences, Zverev’s success underscores how elite athletes are increasingly competing at the highest level while managing chronic conditions, in line with medical standards set out by bodies such as the International Tennis Integrity Agency, and within the anti-doping and health frameworks overseen by the International Tennis Federation.

The American stage and Shelton’s emergence

For Shelton, this final may yet be remembered more as a starting point than a missed opportunity. The 23-year-old walked out to a rapturous reception in front of a star-studded crowd, which included Irish James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan – framed by a mischievous television director alongside the stadium clock reading 0:07 in a nod to his most famous role.

The camera panning from the clock at 0:07 to Pierce Brosnan.

Absolute cinema. pic.twitter.com/GBjDETvKZg

– US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2026

Across the fortnight, Shelton had already altered the landscape for American men’s tennis. He arrived in the final having never previously beaten Zverev in five attempts, but having scored breakthrough wins over Tsitsipas and Alcaraz, as well as fellow American Frances Tiafoe, to ignite hopes of a first US male champion in over two decades.

That narrative will now roll on to future majors, but Shelton’s words in defeat spoke to both his disappointment and his belief that this campaign is a foundation rather than a one-off.

“This is my happy place and I wish this tournament never ended,” he said on court. “To the city of New York, to the fans who showed up today, to the fans at home, to the people who stayed until 4 in the morning, you guys brought me to the position I’m in. I’m just getting started and I’ll be back again.”

What this title means for Zverev and the men’s game

Zverev’s first US Open crown and second major of the season confirm a shift in the men’s hierarchy. Having previously been defined by his near-miss in the 2020 final in New York, where he lost from two sets up, he now stands as a multi-slam champion with success on both clay and hard courts in the same year.[[1]]

In competitive terms, the title strengthens his position at the top of the men’s game at a moment when Novak Djokovic’s schedule is lighter and injuries have disrupted the seasons of Alcaraz and Sinner. With ranking points from a Grand Slam carrying more weight than any other event, a US Open win consolidates his status in the year-end race and will shape seedings and draws across the next 12 months.

For the United States, the result is more bittersweet. The drought for a men’s Grand Slam singles champion continues, but Shelton’s run – fuelled by high-risk serving and a willingness to take on the sport’s established names – is likely to strengthen his position in national team selections and commercial conversations ahead of future international competitions.

In New York, though, this night ultimately belonged to Zverev: a player who once left Arthur Ashe Stadium haunted by what might have been, and who now leaves it as a two-time Grand Slam champion with his name etched into the history of the US Open.