Alexander Zverev served up a truly bizarre moment at the end of the US Open, as he didn’t realise he had won his first title in New York until he was informed by members of his team.

Zverev ended America’s hopes of a first male champion at Flushing Meadows since 2003 as he recorded a convincing 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 victory to silence a vocal crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The German has waited a long time to win the US Open, with his defeat in the 2020 US Open final the most painful of his career.

Yet when his winning moment arrived, he didn’t realise he had crossed the finish line and hit the balls across the net to Shelton to prepare for another service game.

It needed his coach and brother in his box to inform him that he had won the title and when he glanced up at the scoreboard, he realised he was a Grand Slam champion once again.

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Zverev’s shocked reaction was entirely genuine, with Sky Sports commentator Jonathan Overend suggesting his shock and surprise when he realised he had won created ‘a meme for all-time’.

The new US Open champion was the nearly man of men’s tennis for much of his career, but he banished that tag by winning the French Open in June.

The new king of the US Open gave an emotional speech to the crowd in New York, as he admitted his long wait for glory is finally paying off.

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“We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title, and now we’ve won two in three months,” said Zverev. “2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was bemused by Zverev’s surprising reaction to his win, as she suggested this was a first in tennis.

“I have seen a lot… I’ve seen people lose score, but I’ve never seen this in a Grand Slam singles final,” declared the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion on Sky Sports. “It was crazy.”

Navratilova went on to salute Zverev as she added: “He got a little nervous, but it only cost him one set.

“He then played really well in the final set when it mattered the most.

“He really looked comfortable the whole time and Ben really couldn’t find openings against him.

“Zverev has been here many times and won, so whatever nerves he had, they cost him one game and that was it. If you can do that over four sets, you’re good to go.”

Zverev collected a mega $5.5 million prize money windfall for his second Grand Slam title, which is a record prize money sum that matched the prize money won by women’s champion Elena Rybakina after her win against Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s final on Saturday.

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