Zverev Defeats Shelton To Capture U.S. Open Title
Alexander Zverev captured the second major title of his career as he defeated American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 to win the U.S. Open on Sunday afternoon. Zverev backs up his French Open title from earlier this summer, and establishes himself as the best player on the ATP Tour this season.
“I want to thank my team. We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now we’ve won two within the span of three months,” said Zverev. “I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through. I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”
While Zverev was seeking his second career Grand Slam title and competing in the sixth major final of his career, Shelton was playing his first. And those nerves, aided by the prospect of becoming the first American man since 2003 to win a major title, were apparent early. Shelton was broken in the first game of the match which would set the tone for the day. A double-fault on set point gave Zverev the opener.
In the second, Shelton found the groove on his serve, and he and Zverev served their way into a tiebreaker. But sloppy play to begin the tiebreak allowed Zverev to race out to a 5-0 lead, and closed out the frame a few points later.
Shelton refused to go quietly, however, and earned his first and only break of the match when Zverev served to stay in the set at 5-6. At 0-40, Zverev saved a set point, but Shelton earned the break to force a fourth set.
“Ben, you’re an incredible player, an incredible person,” Zverev said to Shelton during the trophy ceremony. “This was your first Grand Slam final, but I already told you that you’re going to be back here many, many more times.”
Zverev made sure to quell any idea of a comeback as he immediately broke Shelton to open up the set. With momentum back on his side, Zverev remained efficient on his serve and broke Shelton once more, eventually closing out the final in three hours and 33 minutes.
In total, Zverev won 85 percent of the points on his first serve throughout the match, which Shelton commented on his post-match press conference.
“He’s got the best serve in tennis. I broke him today for the first time in 66 games.”
Shelton also pontificated on what this moment means for him, and the next steps he needs to take in order to get back to these stages.
“I don’t think I’m anywhere near the player that I want to be. I think I’m a great competitor. I think I compete really well out there on the court. I’m able to stay focused and stay there on the court for many, many hours. I think that’s going to help me in the future moving forward. To win on Sundays, you got to play a very, very high level of great tennis.”
Shelton moves up five spots to fourth in the world, his career-high ranking.
