A Champion Who Would Not Be Denied
Alexander Zverev stepped to the baseline on Arthur Ashe Stadium carrying the weight of a painful memory: six years ago, he served for this very title in the fifth set against Dominic Thiem and crumbled. On Sunday, before a partisan crowd of 24,000 desperate to see an American champion, the 29-year-old German held his nerve and claimed a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 victory over Ben Shelton to become only the second German man to win the US Open in the Open era, following Boris Becker.
In a moment that perfectly captured his composed state of mind, Zverev did not even realize the match had ended. After firing down a final serve, he returned to the baseline ready to play the next point until his team frantically signaled that it was over. "In that moment I was in the zone a lot," he said afterward, adding that the result felt "amazing." He also paid a heartfelt tribute to his mother, who encouraged him to pursue sport despite a childhood diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.
A Year That Rewrote Zverev's Legacy
Having already lifted the French Open trophy earlier in 2026, Zverev arrived in New York as a genuine Grand Slam champion rather than a perennial nearly-man. The absences of Jannik Sinner, ruled out of the US Open, and Carlos Alcaraz, who missed both the French Open and Wimbledon, undeniably opened the draw, yet Zverev still had to battle through grueling early-round matches before hitting top form.
Shelton, seeded eighth and just 23 years old, was bidding to become the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003. He threatened in the third set, finally converting a break and energizing the crowd, but a loose service game to open the fourth allowed Zverev to close things out with authority. TennisDraw users who had Zverev penciled in as champion following his French Open run will be feeling very pleased with their bracket choices right now.
