Zverev beats Shelton in four sets to win the US Open and his second Grand Slam of 2026
The German added New York to his Roland Garros title, ending Ben Shelton's run in his first major final.
· · 2 min read
Alexander Zverev won the 2026 US Open on 13 September, beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium for his second major title of the year.
Key takeaways
- Zverev beat Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in 3 hours 33 minutes.
- It is his first US Open title, after he won Roland Garros in June.
- He is the fourth man in the Open Era to win his first two majors in the same year.
- Shelton, 23, was playing his first Grand Slam final.
- Elena Rybakina won the women's singles title.
Six years after losing the 2020 US Open final from two sets up, Alexander Zverev finally won in New York. On 13 September the German beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in 3 hours and 33 minutes.
The title is his second Grand Slam of 2026. Zverev won Roland Garros in June and also reached the Wimbledon final, and he becomes the fourth man in the Open Era to win his first two majors in the same calendar year.
Key moments
Shelton was broken in the opening game, with two double faults on break points, and another double fault handed Zverev the first set 6-3.
The second set stayed on serve until the tie-break, where Zverev raced to 5-0 and closed it 7-2.
Shelton broke for the first time in the 12th game of the third set to take it 7-5 and lift the home crowd.
Zverev broke in the first game of the fourth set and never let the match drift, winning it 6-2.
Zverev, the top seed, looked the calmer player throughout, taking his time between points. Shelton even complained to the umpire about the length of the German's bouncing routine before serving. Once Zverev started redirecting Shelton's pace from the baseline in the fourth set, the American's first-strike plan stopped working.
Shelton, 23, was playing his first major final. He had reached it the hard way, beating Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the quarter-finals and fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the semi-finals. His defeat means the wait for an American man to win a Grand Slam singles title goes on: the last was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
A season of consistency
Zverev has now won 25 of his 27 matches at the majors this year. The result also strengthens his position in the race to the ATP Finals in Turin, where he is about 700 points ahead of Jannik Sinner.
The 2020 final had been played in an empty stadium during the pandemic, and Zverev lost it to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets. Earlier in the week he said everything about this final felt different, starting with a full Arthur Ashe Stadium. Asked whether he could end the year with more majors than Alcaraz and Sinner, he said he had always believed it was possible.
Zverev, who has lived with type 1 diabetes since he was four, thanked his mother in his on-court speech after the match.
In the women's draw, Elena Rybakina won the singles title.
What's next
The tour moves to the Asian swing and the indoor season, with the ATP Finals in Turin in November the last big target of the year. For Shelton, the run to the final is the best Grand Slam result of his career so far, and he will rise to a career-high ranking.
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