Alexander Zverev was so deep inside the match that he did not notice he had won it. After striking the serve that beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in Sunday’s US Open final, the German turned back towards the baseline to play the next point before his box told him there was not one. At 29, on his sixth attempt in a Grand Slam final, Zverev was a major champion for the second time in three months.
The win ended Shelton’s bid to become the first American man to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003, and completed the most productive season of Zverev’s career: French Open champion in June, Wimbledon runner-up in July, and now the holder of the trophy he let slip six years ago on the same court.
Zverev never let the noise in
Arthur Ashe Stadium wanted a home champion and said so for four sets. Zverev’s answer was to make himself unplayable on serve. He won 39 of his first 42 first-serve points and did not face a break point until midway through the third set, by which point he had held serve 66 consecutive times across the tournament. Shelton, the No. 8 seed, finally broke that streak in the last game of the third — the first set any American man has taken in a major final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.
It bought Shelton nothing. Zverev broke immediately at the start of the fourth, the only break of a set that lasted barely half an hour, and closed it out without another moment of doubt.
“In that moment I was in the zone, a lot,” Zverev said. “I didn’t hear noise at all. I was in this kind of tunnel where I just didn’t hear anything.” He also apologised, twice, to a crowd that had spent three hours willing his opponent forward: “I know today 99.9% of the people wanted Ben to win, so I’m very sorry first of all. But second, it was an incredible atmosphere to play in.”
Shelton, whose serve was clocked at 147mph, was generous in defeat. “You’re one of the very best players in the world,” he told Zverev at the ceremony, “maybe the best player in the world this year.”
A 23-year wait goes on, and a 30-year one ends
Shelton arrived in the final having done the hardest work of anyone in the draw. He beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the quarter-final, a match that finished at 3:33am — the latest end in US Open history — and ended Alcaraz’s 18-match Grand Slam winning streak. He then beat Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in a semi-final played on the anniversary of 9/11. He was attempting to become the first Black men’s champion at Flushing Meadows since Arthur Ashe won the first US Open in 1968. Instead the American drought reaches 23 years, and Shelton is 0-6 against Zverev.
Zverev’s own record now reads very differently. He is the fourth German of the Open era to win multiple majors, after Steffi Graf, Boris Becker and Angelique Kerber, having gone into this season as the best player of his generation without a Slam. His 2026 Grand Slam ledger:
- Australian Open: semi-final, lost to Alcaraz in five sets
- French Open: champion, beating Flavio Cobolli in five sets — the first German man to win a major since Becker in 1996
- Wimbledon: final, lost to Jannik Sinner
- US Open: champion
That is 25 wins and two defeats at the majors, making him only the seventh man to win 25 or more Grand Slam matches in a single year. It is also emphatic redemption for 2020, when he led Dominic Thiem by two sets in this final and lost — the first man since 1949 to surrender that lead in a major final.
One thing left to take
The title was worth $5.5m, a record Grand Slam cheque shared with women’s champion Elena Rybakina, but the more significant number is 1,810. That is how many ranking points now separate Zverev, on 9,690, from Sinner’s 11,500. Sinner missed this tournament with a knee injury; Alcaraz has also lost time to fitness problems. Zverev stays at No. 2 on Monday, but for the first time the world No. 1 ranking is a realistic target over the indoor swing and the ATP Finals rather than a theoretical one.
Shelton leaves New York at a career-high No. 4, with proof he can beat the very best over five sets and a clear diagnosis of what he still cannot do: hold serve against Zverev when it matters. Both men have reason to treat this final as a beginning.
**Sources:** [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/49933388/alexander-zverev-beats-ben-shelton-4-sets-win-2026-us-open), [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/tennis/news/us-open-2026-results-alexander-zverev-ben-shelton-mens-singles-final/), [Tennisnerd](https://www.tennisnerd.net/news/zverev-wins-the-2026-us-open-now-within-striking-distance-of-jannik-sinners-top-ranking/69235), [Puntodebreak](https://www.puntodebreak.com/en/2026/09/14/atp-ranking-zverev-narrows-the-gap-and-moves-closer-to-number-one-djokovic-falls-out-of)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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