The top seed collected his second Grand Slam title of the year, doing so in dominant fashion over an emerging American star
Getty Images
Alexander Zverev made sure the United States’ long wait for a men’s tennis Grand Slam champion continued Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, overpowering Ben Shelton in a commanding US Open final (6-3, 7-6[7-2], 5-7, 6-2). The top-seeded Zverev claimed his second Grand Slam title of the season after previously winning the French Open and playing in the final at Wimbledon.
Andy Roddick remains the last American man to win a major on the singles side, doing so in 2003, while Shelton was the second since Roddick to compete in a Grand Slam final.
The ever-steady Zverev was calculated against Shelton’s thunderous, sometimes shaky serve, weathering the pro-underdog New York crowd before pouncing whenever opportunities arose. Zverev faced only one break point in the match prior to Shelton’s breakthrough in the final game of the third set when broke the German for the first time in 66 service games.
Zverev opened the decisive fourth set with a break of serve during a 24-point rally, finally coaxing Shelton into an unforced error that sailed wide off his backhand. Zverev served to perfection in the fourth set en route to capturing his second career major.
Now 6-0 in his career against Shelton, Zverev has won 13 of the last 14 sets in their head-to-head matchup since losing the first set of a 2024 ATP Masters 1000 victory in Cincinnati.
The difference between two of tennis’ hard-court titans was experience and precision. It took nearly three hours for Shelton to get into the match with a service break and victory in the third set, but Zverev carried himself like a champion in his third Grand Slam final appearance of the year.
Shelton seemingly struggled to navigate a never-before-seen stage when pressure mounted, especially in the fourth set when pace weakened and Zverev seized control early.
Carrying the weight of a country on his shoulders, Shelton was the first Black American man to reach the US Open finals since Arthur Ashe in 1972. Ashe’s widow, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, was in attendance watching Shelton try to finish out a brilliant two-week run in New York.
Shelton was the first Black American man to reach any Grand Slam final since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996.
“Hopefully, I can not make the American dream come true,” Zverev said before Sunday’s final.
Zverev flexes strength in true road environment
Zverev won nearly all mid-range and double-digit rallies as Shelton was unable to solve the German’s expansive repertoire, but it was his tiebreaker win in the second set that clinched what felt like an insurmountable advantage on championship Sunday.
With the crowd behind him for the first time in the match, Shelton grabbed momentum at 6-6 before Zverev came up with two of the best shots of the tournament in the tiebreak. Leading 1-0, Zverev passed Shelton at the net and later redirected a shot from his adversary into the corner for a 5-0 lead.
Shelton got back to 2-5 in the tiebreak that reignited the home crowd in Flushing Meadows before Zverev quieted the fans with a pair of deep returns the American could not handle. Shelton later hit an incredible approach shot at 30-30 during a rally in the third set, leading 4-3, but Zverev somehow backhanded a winner down the line.
Shelton, who won 22 of his last 24 service points in the match despite the loss, has never come back from a two-set hole in a Grand Slam to win a match (0-10).
Shelton bothered by Zverev’s gamesmanship
Shelton complained twice to the chair umpire about Zverev’s lengthy pre-serve ritual during the second set — the ample time he takes before launching balls over the net. He requested an explanation at deuce with the second set tied 3-3 when his opponent tossed a ball into the air and let it come down. No penalty or warning was assessed without a time violation, resulting in an eye roll from Shelton.
Zverev won the next two points to take the seventh game. Struggling to find momentum, Shelton began hitting his forehand harder than he had the entire tournament toward the end of the second set. He sprinted toward the net for a slamming winner and fist pump reaction after knotting the score at five games apiece before Zverev held on serve and dominated Shelton in the all-important tiebreak.
Zverev reportedly bounced the ball more than 12,000 times at the US Open before the final, which was quite bothersome to the opposition. Karen Khachanov brought it up after losing to Zverev in the semifinals, and others have commented that his ball-bouncing is quite distracting.
“I have no idea why. I don’t do it on purpose. I saw the statistic that I’ve bounced the ball around 12,000 times or something like that. It’s pretty funny,” Zverev said earlier this week. “I’m not counting them in my head or trying to reach a specific number.”
Nerves surfaced early
Shelton made 11 unforced errors in the first set to only three for Zverev. Shelton double-faulted twice on break point for Zverev in the first set, proof that he was playing a bit over-anxious early in the biggest match of his life.
The winner of the US Open’s first set in the championship finals has now won 31 of the last 34 titles.
Zverev’s energy level diminished a bit toward the end of the second set before he found another gear in the tiebreak. Shelton’s athleticism and power created moments, but Zverev controlled the match’s biggest points in critical situations.
Nerves were showing for Shelton in the first game of the second set after completely whiffing on a return of Zverev’s serve. He got to deuce in the game before uncorking a couple of forehands during rallies and dropping the game.
Shelton can take this experience at the US Open as a momentum-booster moving forward after taking out several elite opponents on his way to the final. He took out Carlos Alcaraz in an epic five-set quarterfinal match that ended Wednesday at 3:33 a.m ET before outlasting fellow American Frances Tiafoe in Friday night’s blockbuster semifinal.
#3
