Zverev Beats Shelton to Win First US Open Title and Second Major of 2026
Alexander Zverev has won his first US Open title, beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in a three-hour, 33-minute final at Arthur Ashe Stadium to claim his second Grand Slam of the year.
The German top seed faced only one break point across the entire match and served with near-total control against an opponent who had spent the fortnight overpowering the rest of the draw.
Composure Against the Crowd
Zverev took the opening set comfortably, moving 3-1 ahead as Shelton struggled to settle in his first major final. The second was tighter, with the 23-year-old American responding to everything the German produced and eventually forcing a tie-break, only for Zverev to race to a 5-0 lead and take it 7-2.
Shelton found a way back in the third as the New York crowd came alive behind him, but Zverev reasserted himself in the fourth and closed it out. Indicative of his focus, Zverev appeared not to realise immediately that he had won, moving to the back of the court following his match winning point as though expecting more tennis to be played.
Addressing his team afterwards, Zverev said: "I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through and I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before."
There was a testy moment in the second set when Shelton complained to the chair umpire about Zverev's lengthy ball-bouncing routine before serving. No warning was given. Zverev had been asked about the habit earlier in the week and said he did not do it on purpose.
The Wait Goes On
The result means no American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at this tournament in 2003.
Shelton had beaten defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarter-final that finished at 3:33am, the latest end to any match in US Open history, then came through an all-American semi-final against Frances Tiafoe. He fell short of becoming the first man since 1975 to beat both the top and second seeds on the way to the title.
He is now 0-6 in his career against Zverev, and Sunday was only the second time he has taken a set off him. Zverev has won 13 of 14 sets in the matchup since dropping the first in a 2024 meeting at Cincinnati, and at one point during the match, had won 67 straight service games against him.
A Landmark Season
The title caps a season without precedent in Zverev's career. He won the French Open in June for his first major, and finishes the year 25-2 in Grand Slam matches, the most wins of any player in 2026.
That record makes him the fifth man in the Open era to win 25 or more major matches in a single year, joining Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Jannik Sinner and Rafael Nadal. He also becomes the fourth German in the Open era to win multiple majors, after Steffi Graf, Boris Becker and Angelique Kerber.
Zverev was competing as the top seed at a major for the first time. He had previously reached the US Open final in 2020, losing to Dominic Thiem from two sets up.
