Alexander Zverev produced a dominant serving display to beat Ben Shelton and claim his second Grand Slam title at the US Open.
The German world No. 2 held his nerve to defeat Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in the final, ending the American’s hopes of becoming the first US man to win the title in New York since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Zverev becomes the second German man to win the US Open after Boris Becker, who triumphed in 1989. He is also the fourth man in the Open Era to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season, having claimed his maiden major at the French Open earlier this year.
The 29-year-old struck 35 winners and won 85% of his first-service points during the clash at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He also extended his perfect head-to-head record against Shelton to 6-0, having dropped just one set against the American.
“I want to thank my team. We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title, and now we have won two in a span of three months,” Zverev said during the trophy ceremony.
“I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered and how much pain we went through.
“I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before. You guys are absolutely amazing.“
Playing in his 11th US Open main draw, Zverev capitalised on early nerves from Shelton to make the perfect start. Back-to-back unforced errors from the American handed the German an immediate break in the opening game, and he surged through the first set in just 40 minutes.
Zverev secured another break in the final game of the set when Shelton sent a backhand into the net, giving the second seed an early advantage.
Six years ago, when he last played a US Open final, Zverev won the opening set against Dominic Thiem before going on to suffer a heartbreaking loss. But history wouldn’t repeat itself.
Zverev maintained his composure through a closely contested second set, with Shelton battling hard but struggling to match his opponent in the decisive moments. The eighth seed quickly fell 0-5 behind in the tiebreak, undone by a combination of errors and high-intensity shotmaking from Zverev. The German soon converted his advantage into a two-set lead.
It wasn’t until two hours and 50 minutes into the final that Shelton and the American crowd had something to cheer about. There was a lull in Zverev’s intensity on the court as he unexpectedly went down 0-40 when serving at 5-6 in the third frame before later hitting a volley out a couple of points later to drop the third set.
Despite the blip, Zverev regained his stronghold in the fourth set by breaking twice en route to glory. Serving for the title, he closed the match out by fighting a 137 mph serve down the centre of the court.
“I want to thank actually one person who’s never actually watch my matches but is the most important person in my tennis life,” Zverev reflected afterwards.
“When your four-year-old son gets diagnosed with diabetes, doctors in the office tell you that life and sports will be very limited for that child. It takes a very, very strong mother to walk out of those offices and to say my son will be whatever he wants to be.
“This illness will not define us, and I’m happy that we work through it, and we’re doing things that we’re doing right now.
“My mother is the most important and the strongest person because it takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did.”
As for Shelton, it is a bittersweet first experience of playing in a major final. Nevertheless, he has praised Zverev, who has won more matches (53) than anyone else on the ATP Tour so far this season.
“I want to thank God. My successes are a gift. The failures are a gift, and being here playing in front of you guys is a gift,” said Shelton.
“Sasha, congrats on these two weeks. Your second grand slam title, two in one year. You’re one of the very best players in the world, maybe the best player in the world this year. What you’re doing is incredible, the way you’re serving, the way you’re moving and playing.
“You work harder than anyone I know. You put more hours on the court than anyone I know. You and your team do things the right way, and I’m sincerely happy for you guys to hold this title.”
Zverev is the fifth active men’s player to win multiple Grand Slam titles and the first player born in the 1990s to do so.
