Alexander Zverev finally has his US Open championship.
Six years after leaving New York with one of the most painful defeats of his career, the German star returned to the men’s final and finished the job, defeating American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victory gave Zverev his second Grand Slam championship of 2026 after he captured his first major title at the French Open earlier this year. It also completed some unfinished business at Flushing Meadows, where he had come painfully close to winning the tournament in 2020.
This time, Zverev was the player who refused to let the opportunity escape.
Playing against Shelton and a New York crowd eager to celebrate an American champion, Zverev established control early. He took the opening set 6-3 and then delivered a commanding performance in the second-set tiebreak, winning it 7-2 to move within one set of the title.
Shelton was not ready to disappear.
The 23-year-old American, appearing in his first Grand Slam final, found another gear late in the third set. With Zverev serving at 5-6, Shelton finally broke through, taking the set 7-5 and giving the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd reason to believe a comeback was underway.
Zverev quickly shut down that possibility.
He broke Shelton immediately to begin the fourth set, reclaiming the momentum before the American could build on his third-set surge. Zverev remained firmly in control from there and added another break on his way to a 6-2 finish.
The championship adds another major milestone to a remarkable season for Zverev. After spending years among the best players in the world without a Grand Slam trophy, he has now won two majors in the same season.
The victory also provided redemption in New York. Zverev reached the US Open final in 2020 and built a two-set advantage over Dominic Thiem before ultimately losing the championship in five sets.
His return to the final six years later produced a very different ending.
For Shelton, the defeat ended an impressive run that carried considerable historical significance. He became the first Black American man since Arthur Ashe in 1972 to reach the US Open men’s singles final.
He was also trying to end one of the longest-running droughts in American tennis. No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick captured the US Open in 2003.
That wait will continue.
Shelton, however, leaves New York having reached his first major final and established himself as an increasingly serious contender on the sport’s biggest stages.
For Zverev, there was no need to talk about what might have been this time.
New York finally belonged to him.
