Alexander Zverev ended Ben Shelton’s American dream, defeating the home favourite 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 to claim his first US Open title and silence the New York crowd.
The weight of history proved too much for Shelton, who was attempting to become the first American man in 23 years to win a Grand Slam singles title. In his first major final, the 23-year-old showed plenty of resilience, but his comeback against the French Open champion arrived too late and lasted too briefly.
The result also extended Zverev’s perfect record against Shelton to six victories from six meetings. Particularly effective against left-handers, the German looked completely at ease throughout, trusting his own game and waiting patiently for Shelton to falter at crucial moments.
Shelton entered Arthur Ashe Stadium wearing a fierce, determined expression and carrying the support of a partisan crowd. But the confidence that had powered his wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe earlier in the week quickly deserted him, with his attacking shots repeatedly sailing long or finding the net.
Zverev needed little encouragement. The top seed secured an early break in Shelton’s opening service game and settled into the patterns he preferred, relying on his powerful backhand, standing firm in extended rallies and dictating the pace. Shelton was visibly irritated by the German’s relentless ball-bouncing routine.
The habit had become one of the defining features of Zverev’s US Open campaign, with the German taking an average of 10 seconds to bounce the ball before first and second serves. Over the first two and a half hours, the repetitive routine tested the patience of everyone inside the stadium. Even a time violation from chair umpire Marijana Veljovic in the fourth set failed to break his rhythm or stop the rule-bending ritual.
Alexander Zverev secured his maiden US Open crown only months after lifting the French Open trophy
Ben Shelton carried the hopes of the home nation but was unable to complete another remarkable comeback
His girlfriend Trinity Rodman, who had flown from a Washington Spirit match for the final stages, was left in floods of tears
Shelton recovered from that early setback and kept the opening set competitive behind a serve that regularly reaches beyond 140mph. Yet his tennis was more functional than inspired, offering only occasional glimpses of the creativity that had carried him past Tiafoe and Alcaraz.
Whenever the serve failed him, the consequences were severe. Double faults helped Zverev break for the first time and hand him the opening set, then undermined Shelton again in the second-set tiebreak. Zverev absorbed the pace on return and repeatedly took control of the points.
Shelton refused to fold, matching Zverev deep into the third set and placing pressure on an opponent with a reputation for tightening up on the biggest occasions. This time, however, it was Zverev who blinked, with a double fault ending his run of 67 consecutive holds against Shelton.
Shelton has been the comeback king of New York, but his blood was too hot going into the fourth and Zverev pounced with a second break of his opening serve. That doused the flames of patriotism fired-up inside Ashe pretty quickly.
The crowd never truly died down for their battling player, at times slipping into classless heckling. But Zverev tuned out the noise capably, just as the type-1 diabetic impressively managed multiple injections of insulin during the contest to keep his blood sugar levels steady. Long tennis’ nearly-man, he had already survived the five-set scramble against Flavio Cobolli in Paris. As if surprised to avoid a second, such was his focus, he was slow to realise he had actually won after putting away match point.
Zverev will never be a universally popular champion. His game is considered and clinical, but lacks a flash and flair to tempt the neutral. There’s the smog of domestic abuse allegations from two ex-partners, the second of which went to trial, and was settled by Zverev in 2024 with legal proceedings discontinued.
Zverev has repeatedly denied these claims but incorrectly stated in June that his innocence has been proven. Beating an American in New York will not do much to bolster his appeal Stateside.
But there is much to admire about Zverev’s capacity to seize his moment this year, after previous four Grand Slam finals – including 2020’s in New York – slipped through his fingers.
He has been criticised for winning his two majors with fortunate draws en route, but he cannot choose his opponents, only beat them. And with the absence of Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz in the later stages in Paris and New York, Zverev has not wasted his opportunity. Of course, when they have been there, at the Australian Open, and at Wimbledon, his run has ended. He continues to look up at their singular rivalry.
