TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Alexander Zverev capped a transformational 2026 season by defeating American home favorite Ben Shelton in the US Open final, winning his second Grand Slam title of the year and silencing a partisan crowd hoping to celebrate a rare American men's champion.
The German top seed overcame Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 in the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, adding the US Open crown to the French Open title he won earlier this year.
According to BBC Sport, Zverev entered the season with questions over whether he would ever win one of tennis' most prestigious titles. The 29-year-old had previously lost three Grand Slam finals, raising doubts about whether his career would fulfill its potential.
Those doubts have now been emphatically answered.
Zverev's breakthrough at the French Open was followed by another major triumph in New York, making him a multiple Grand Slam singles champion. His path was also eased by the absence of two of his biggest rivals, with Carlos Alcaraz missing the French Open and Wimbledon and Jannik Sinner ruled out of the US Open.
Sinner and Alcaraz had dominated the Grand Slam landscape in 2024 and 2025, winning all of the major titles between them. Zverev has taken advantage of their absences by emerging as the leading player among the rest of the field.
Against Shelton, Zverev relied on his greater experience and composure to control the crucial stages of the match.
Shelton, 23, had been identified for years as a future Grand Slam champion and arrived in New York with strong momentum after winning the Canadian Open. He was also seeking to become the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win a major singles title.
However, the eighth seed endured a difficult start. He lost serve in the opening game after double-faulting on break point, allowing Zverev to establish control immediately.
Zverev used his powerful first serve and repeatedly targeted Shelton's weaker backhand during baseline exchanges. He took the opening set 6-3 after another Shelton double fault on set point.
The German continued to frustrate Shelton in the second set. Although Zverev had only one break opportunity, he remained composed in the tie-break and won it 7-2 to take a commanding two-set lead.
The match appeared to be slipping away from Shelton, but the American fought back in the third set.
Shelton began applying greater pressure to Zverev's serve and finally converted his third break opportunity, giving the 24,000 fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium renewed hope.
However, his momentum was short-lived.
Shelton opened the fourth set with a poor service game, allowing Zverev to regain control. The German then maintained his composure through the closing stages to end American hopes of a home champion.
Zverev initially appeared unsure that he had won when Shelton sent a return long on championship point. Only after members of his team pointed out the score did the German break into a broad, slightly surprised smile.
The victory marked a remarkable turnaround for a player who had previously struggled in Grand Slam finals.
Zverev had also experienced a difficult start to his US Open campaign, surviving several early rounds that ended in the early hours of the morning. However, he steadily improved throughout the tournament and did not face a top-20 opponent until his meeting with Shelton.
The German had also never lost to Shelton in their five previous meetings, and he immediately capitalized on his opponent's nervous start.
Zverev's ability to remain calm under pressure was particularly significant given his experience at the US Open. In the 2020 final, he surrendered a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem and ultimately lost the championship match.
This time, he avoided a similar collapse.
"We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now won two in the span of three months," Zverev told his team, which includes his father, Alexander Sr., and brother, Mischa.
"I think God has seen how hard we have worked, how hard we have suffered and how much pain we went through. I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before."
For Shelton, the defeat was painful but also represented a significant step forward.
The American reached his first Grand Slam final after entering the tournament with renewed confidence following his Canadian Open triumph. His season at the majors had previously been disappointing, including a first-round Wimbledon defeat by Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen that Shelton described as one of the toughest losses of his career.
He responded strongly during the North American hard-court swing, coming within one victory of ending America's 23-year wait for another men's Grand Slam champion.
Shelton also faced a difficult path to the final, defeating several powerful opponents, including three former top-10 players and seven-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz.
His quarter-final victory over Alcaraz was particularly impressive. Shelton defeated the Spaniard, who was competing in his first tournament in almost five months, in an epic match that finished at 3:34 a.m.
But against world number two Alexander Zverev, Shelton could not repeat that achievement.
His recent progress has been built on improvements to his defensive game and backhand, but his inability to consistently execute his powerful forehand at crucial moments proved costly against Zverev.
The defeat highlighted the remaining work Shelton must do to compete consistently with the very best players on the biggest stage.
"I'm excited with the progress that I feel that I've made, but this one stings 100%," Shelton said. "I made too many errors when I had the ball there on my strings."
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