Zverev Beats Shelton To Win US Open Title, Becomes Two-Time Major Champion

Alexander Zverev, US Open
Alexander Zverev (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, September 14, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

With both No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 1 American Ben Shelton vying to lift their first US Open title, Sunday’s men’s singles final on Arthur Ashe Stadium provided plenty of choice and juicy storylines to whet everyone’s appetite.

First, could Zverev win a second Grand Slam title to go along with his Roland-Garros triumph from earlier this year? Foremost, could the big-serving Shelton become the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick won the US Open title in 2003, a month before Ben’s first birthday, as well as become the first American Black man to win the US Open since Arthur Ashe in 1968?

All would be revealed over the course of their three-hour, 33-minute final, played on the biggest stage in professional tennis, named in honor of the American trailblazer Ashe.

As it happened, the World No. 2 from Germany played mature and skilled tennis – took early control of the final – and won his second major title of the year in his fifth career Grand Slam final, following up on his French Open success in June. He defeated Shelton, 6-3 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2. Playing in his first Grand Slam final, Shelton as unable to end the American drought at the US Open.

Zverev, who became just the fourth player in the Open Era to win his first two major titles in the same season, received his champion’s trophy from five-time US Open champion and Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors during the trophy presentation.

“I want to thank my team,” Zverev said during his trophy speech. “We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now we’ve won two within the span of three months. 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.”

Zverev earned $5.5 million in prize money, not to mention 2,000 ATP points, which moved him to the top of the standings in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 700 points ahead of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

The 29-year-old Zverev came into the title match owning a 5-0 career head-to-head against the 23-year-old Shelton, ranked ninth – and by the end of the afternoon, made it 6-0. It was the second time the German No. 1 had played in the US Open final after losing to Austria’s Dominic Thiem six years ago this week in the 2020 championship match, which went the distance and was played in front of an empty stadium during the COVID-19 pandemic year. Meanwhile, Shelton was making his debut at the final stage of a Grand Slam.

As the final lengthened, the difference in experience between the two Top-10 competitors became evident. Shelton was never able to push Zverev out of his comfort zone. At the same time, Zverev absorbed Shelton’s powerful serve and groundstrokes. He always seemed to be one shot better.

Shelton ceded three errors in the opening game of the match and his first double fault enabled Zverev to break the American’s serve for an early 1-0 lead. Then, he came through with an easy hold for a 2-0 lead. Later, a 137 mile-per-hour first serve out wide produced Zverev’s first ace of the afternoon and gave him a 4-1 break lead after going 11-for-11 in winning first-serve points through his first three service games.

Soon, Zverev, who faced no break points, closed out the 40-minute opening set after Shelton double-faulted away the game and gave the top seed a 6-3 set win. Zverev, who broke Shelton in the first and last games of the set, outpointed his opponent 27-24. It marked the 11th-straight set Shelton has lost to Zverev – and the fourth time during this New York fortnight that Shelton has lost the first set.

In the second set, neither player budged and it was on to play a tiebreaker. Zverev jumped ahead 5-0 before Shelton broke the shutout. Zverev gained a set point at 6-2 and blasted a 139 mile-per-hour first serve that Shelton weakly hit into the net to close out the set 7-6 (2). After an hour and 50 minutes, Zverev had gained a two-sets-to-none lead and was just a set away from winning his second career major. Shelton was unable to make a dent in Zverev’s first serve and had yet to break his serve. He also made four unforced errors that proved costly, too.

Although Zverev also enjoyed a two-sets-to-none lead six years ago when he faced Thiem – and, ultimately, lost in five sets – he proved to be a wiser player this time, despite dropping the third set to Shelton.

In the third set, serving at 3-4 (30-30), two-and-a-half hours into the final, Zverev capped a 19-shot rally with a brilliant back-handed passing shot that left Shelton sprawled across the court – unable to lay a racquet on it. Zverev won the game a point later and it was 4-all, as he continued to close in on his second major title. Soon, though, Shelton gained three break points on Zverev’s serve, ahead 6-5 (0-40) and cashed in on his second one to win the set 7-5.

Suddenly, it was match on after Zverev’s streak of 66 straight holds against Shelton had been broken. The crowd, which had been pretty subdued, came alive. They were into it. It raised everyone’s hope that Shelton could mount a comeback.

However, Zverev immediately went to work and took back control from Shelton. He broke the American No. 1 for the third time in the final to go up 1-0 and consolidated the break for a 2-0 advantage. Suddenly, Shelton’s back was against the wall. Soon, Zverev increased his lead to 4-2, making Shelton hit an extra ball while prolonging rallies. It put him two games away from winning his second Grand Slam title in his third Grand Slam final this season.

Zverev gained a break at 15-40 in the next game and the frustration of Shelton’s face was evident. Zverev grabbed the break by winning a back-and-forth 11 shot rally to go ahead 5-2. He looked toward his bench with his right fist clench as walked to his bench.

After changing his footwear at the seventh-game changeover, Zverev needed merely to hold serve in the ensuing game to win. As the title match reached the third-and-a-half-hour mark, Zverev wasted little time closing it out – but in doing so, he apparently lost track of the set score. When Zverev secured championship point, his reaction was somewhat delayed. As Zverev admitted later, he thought he merely held serve – not that he had won his second major.

Soon, Zverev raced to the net to hug Shelton and to offer words of encouragement. Then, he went over to his team and embraced his father, Alexander Sr., and his older brother, Mischa. After spending nearly 20 hours on court just to reach the final – and an additional three-plus hours to secure the title – Zverev could finally exhale and celebrate.

By the conclusion, Zverev hit 35 winners – including nine aces – and won 85 percent (68 of 80) of his first-seven points. He converted four of six break points and outpointed Shelton 125-113. By comparison, Shelton pounded out 47 winners – 10 of them aces – and won 71 percent (62 of 87) of his first-serve points. He broke Zverev once in three times. Zverev finished with 31 unforced errors and Shelton committed 47.

The victory was Zverev’s ATP Tour-leading 53rd of the season and his 25th Grand Slam win this season. Zverev is the second German US Open men’s champion after Boris Becker (1989), and the fourth man in the Open Era to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season. Both of his titles this season have been majors. He now trails Sinner by 1,810 points in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Shelton, twice an ATP 500 winner this season (at Dallas and Munich) and champion of the recent ATP Masters 1000 event at Montreal, will rise to a career-high World No. 4 on Monday, when the new PIF ATP Rankings are released. He dethroned defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in a memorable quarterfinal that went five sets and ended at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday morning. Then, Shelton beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe, seeded 11th, in the semifinals to advance to Sunday’s championship match.

“My successes are a gift. The failures are a gift. Being here playing in front of you guys is a gift,” Shelton said in accepting the runner-up trophy, $2.8 million in prize money and 1,300 ATP points.

Although Zverev dashed Shelton’s hopes of making American men’s history at the US Open, he praised his fallen opponent during the trophy ceremony.

“Ben, you’re an incredible player, an incredible person,” Zverev said. “This was your first Grand Slam final, but I already told you that you’re going to be back here many, many more times.”

Shelton offered congratulations to Zvevev on his second Grand Slam title this year.

“Sascha, congrats on these two weeks man,” he said. “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, 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. Sincerely happy for you guys to hold this title. It’s been a long time coming here.”

Around the US Open

Besides Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors, who presented Alexander Zverev with the champion’s trophy, there was plenty of American men’s and women’s tennis royalty on hand – all of them Hall of Famers, too. Along with Stan Smith, who won the 1971 US Open, there was four-time US Open champion John McEnroe, who was in the ABC/ESPN broadcast booth; 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, who served as an ABC/ESPN pundit; Jim Courier, who was a commentator on the US Open world feed broadcast and acted as master of ceremonies during the trophy presentation; and Martina Navratilova, a four-time US Open champion, who worked as a pundit for Sky Sports.

By the numbers

Since Andy Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero to win the 2003 US Open title, there have been just six other American men reach the singles final of a Grand Slam before Ben Shelton this year:

Andy Roddick, 2004 Wimbledon (lost to Roger Federer); Roddick, 2005 Wimbledon (lost to Federer); Andre Agassi, 2005 US Open (lost to Federer); Roddick, 2006 US Open (lost to Federer); Roddick, 2009 Wimbledon (lost to Federer), Taylor Fritz, 2024 US Open (lost to Jannik Sinner).

“Quotable …”

“It was an incredible atmosphere to play in, even though the crowd was against me. You guys brought the energy and noise.”

– New US Open champion Alexander Zverev of Germany, during his trophy ceremony speech.

“I’m just getting started; I’ll be back here again.”

– US Open runner-up Ben Shelton of the United States, during his trophy ceremony speech.

 

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