Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton in four sets to win the US Open men’s singles title, adding a second Grand Slam trophy to the French Open championship he won earlier in the year. The German prevailed 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday.
The victory marked a recovery from Zverev’s previous US Open final appearance in 2020, when he lost to Dominic Thiem after coming within two points of the championship. As the top seed, Zverev controlled the opening stages against Shelton and produced a near-flawless tiebreak on serve, according to Al Jazeera.
Shelton, 23, mounted a comeback in the third set. He took advantage of errors from Zverev to earn his first break of the match and force a fourth set, with the American crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium strongly behind him. Shelton had reached the final after a five-set quarter-final victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and a comeback win over fellow American Frances Tiafoe.
Zverev responded immediately in the fourth set, breaking Shelton in the opening game after a long rally. He then maintained control despite the pressure of the crowd and a time-violation warning, eventually closing out the match when Shelton sent a serve return long.
The result denied Shelton the opportunity to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open victory. It also ended his attempt to become the first American man to win the tournament since Roddick and the first Black man to do so since Arthur Ashe in 1968.
Zverev became emotional after the match while thanking his family and coaching team. He spoke about his mother’s support after he was diagnosed with diabetes as a child and said the illness would not define him. He also praised Shelton, telling the American that he would win the tournament one day.