Zverev caps breakthrough 2026 season with US Open title after French Open triumph

Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton on Sunday in New York to win the US Open, claiming the second Grand Slam title of his career. The top-seeded German won 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-2, denying Shelton the chance to become the first American man in 23 years to win a major.

Zverev has now won two Grand Slam titles. He claimed the French Open earlier this season before adding the US Open, following a runner-up finish at Wimbledon in between.

The win also erased memories of his 2020 US Open final defeat, when he was two points from victory before losing to Dominic Thiem.

What did Zverev say after winning?

Zverev reflected on the years of near misses that preceded his breakthrough season. "I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through and I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before," he said at the trophy presentation.

The 23-year-old Shelton was one month shy of his first birthday when Andy Roddick hoisted the 2003 US Open trophy in the last major triumph for a US man.

How did the US Open final unfold?

Zverev broke early and controlled the first two sets, closing out the second with a dominant tiebreaker run from 0-5. Shelton fought back to win the third set after Zverev served at 0-40, but the German responded by breaking immediately in the fourth set.

He lifted his arms in triumph after Shelton fired a serve return long on match point and finally received his own huge cheer from the crowd -- but not before some prompting.

Zverev said he didn't initially realize he'd won because he had lost track of the score. "I knew I broke him twice, but I thought it was 5-1 instead of 6-2, which helped me in a way, because I didn't really get nervous serving out the match," Zverev said.