NEW YORK — Alexander Zverev finally conquered the US Open.
The German top seed defeated American eighth seed Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium to win his first US Open men’s singles championship and the second Grand Slam title of his career.
The victory completed a remarkable turnaround for Zverev, who had previously suffered heartbreak in New York. Six years after surrendering a two-set lead in the 2020 US Open final, he returned to Flushing Meadows and this time finished the job.
Zverev holds firm as Shelton fights back
Zverev seized control early, taking the opening set 6-3 before dominating the second-set tiebreak 7-2.
Shelton refused to disappear.
With the New York crowd firmly behind him, the 23-year-old American raised his level and grabbed the third set 7-5, briefly threatening to turn the final into a dramatic five-set battle. But Zverev steadied himself and regained control in the fourth.
The German broke Shelton’s resistance and closed out the championship 6-2.
Zverev’s consistency under pressure proved decisive. He finished with nine aces and 35 winners, while winning 85% of his first-serve points, according to match statistics reported by The Guardian.
A second major in one breakthrough season
The triumph gives Zverev his second Grand Slam title of 2026, following his French Open victory earlier this year.
That marks a major transformation for a player who entered 2026 without a major championship.
His US Open victory also strengthens his position in the battle for the year-end world No. 1 ranking.
The title was particularly meaningful because of Zverev’s previous struggles in Grand Slam finals. His 2020 US Open defeat to Dominic Thiem had become one of the most painful moments of his career.
This time, there was no collapse.
Shelton’s historic run ends one step short
Shelton may have lost the final, but his run to the championship match was historic.
The American became the first Black American man to reach the US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972. He also became the first American man in more than two decades with a realistic chance of ending the country’s long wait for a men’s Grand Slam singles champion.
Shelton had already produced one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals before overcoming Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals.
But Zverev proved to be the final obstacle he could not overcome.
America’s Grand Slam drought continues
Shelton’s defeat means the American men’s wait for a Grand Slam singles champion continues.
The last American man to win a major was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
That makes the 2026 final another painful chapter for American men’s tennis, particularly after Shelton’s impressive run had generated hopes that the drought could finally end on home soil.
For Zverev, however, the same court that once represented disappointment has now become the scene of redemption.
He entered the final with the memory of 2020 behind him.
He left New York as a US Open champion.
Six years after heartbreak, Alexander Zverev has finally conquered Flushing Meadows — and his two-major 2026 season has transformed him from a perennial contender into one of the year’s defining champions.
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