Alexander Zverev dispatched Ben Shelton in four sets to win the U.S. Open men’s singles title on Sunday, the second Grand Slam win for the German after he finally broke through at the French Open earlier this year.
The No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam for the first time, Zverev capitalized on Shelton’s shaky start in his first major final, played a nearly flawless tiebreaker on serve and then turned back Shelton’s comeback attempt to win 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in front of a crowd that desperately cheered the American on.
After taking down his fellow countryman Francis Tiafoe in a thrilling semifinal, Shelton was aiming to become the first American man to win a major since Andy Roddick’s U.S. Open victory in 2003. Shelton was also the first Black American man to make it to a U.S. Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
But Zverev was too good in majors this year and apparently didn’t even know how good he was. He finished the match on his serve but didn’t seem to realize it, dropping back behind the baseline as if set to return. Only a few moments later did he figure out he had won, raising his arms in celebration.
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Zverev improved to 25-2 in major matches this year and won $5.5 million on Sunday, matching the prize earned by women’s champion Elena Rybakina on Saturday as the largest in Grand Slam history.
He thought this title would come in 2020 and still acknowledges it should have. He won the first two sets against Dominic Thiem and got within two points of victory before becoming the first man to blow a two-set lead and lose in the final since 1949.
Whatever ghosts were left from then are long gone now.
Zverev also reached the final at Wimbledon, falling to Jannik Sinner, and became the No. 1 seed in New York when the top-ranked Sinner had to withdraw with a knee injury.
Shelton had already eliminated the defending champion when he beat Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal that ended at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history.
But he fell short on Sunday in his attempts to become the first man to beat the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds en route to the U.S. Open title since 1975.
