Germany's top seed Alexander Zverev overcame American eighth seed Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 to secure the U.S. Open men's singles title in New York.
Top seed Alexander Zverev put past U.S. Open heartbreak behind him to defeat American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in the men's singles final on Sunday, September 13, 2026, in New York.
Six years after squandering a two-set lead against Austrian Dominic Thiem in the 2020 final, the German captured the title on his 11th appearance at the hardcourt major. Fresh off his breakthrough triumph at Roland Garros in June, Zverev thwarted the eighth-seeded Shelton's attempt to end a 23-year Grand Slam drought for American men.
Shelton struggled early in his first major final, handing Zverev an opening-game advantage after double-faulting on break point. Although the American won a memorable net exchange in the sixth game after reaching a drop shot and attempted serve-and-volley tactics, another double fault handed Zverev the opening set 6-3.
In the second set, the crowd attempted to disrupt Zverev by cheering his ninth-game double fault and chanting 'Let's go, Ben!' However, the German surged to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak to take the second set.
Shelton mounted a brief comeback in the third set, digging in after a slip in the eighth game to break Zverev's serve with powerful baseline groundstrokes and capture the set 7-5. However, Zverev quickly took charge in the deciding fourth set, winning a 25-shot rally to earn an early break before closing out the 6-2 set for the victory.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.