Alexander Zverev beats Ben Shelton in four sets to win 2026 US Open

Championship victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium

Alexander Zverev secured the second Grand Slam singles title of his career on Sunday, September 13, 2026, defeating American opponent Ben Shelton in four sets. The German world number two completed the 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 victory in 3 hours and 33 minutes in front of approximately 24,000 spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He concluded the match with a winning serve at 17:52 local time, briefly hesitating before raising his arms after not immediately realizing the contest had ended. With this victory, the 29-year-old became the second German player in the Open Era to win the US Open men's singles championship, joining Boris Becker, who won the tournament in 1989. The victory also extended Zverev's career record against the 23-year-old Shelton to six wins in six meetings.

Four-set final progression

Zverev established control early in the opening set after Shelton committed a double fault to surrender his serve in the first game. The German broke Shelton again in the final game of the set to close it out 6-3 in 40 minutes. Shelton pushed the second set to a tiebreak, but Zverev took five consecutive points to open the decider before closing it 7-2. Shelton rallied in the third set, defending a break point at 3-2 and capitalizing on an 0-40 opening at 6-5 on Zverev's serve to take the set 7-5. Zverev responded by breaking Shelton's serve in the opening game of the fourth set, securing another break at 5-2 to close out the championship.

Pace of play and court friction

The contest included moments of tension regarding serving rhythms and tournament regulations. Shelton expressed frustration over the amount of time Zverev spent bouncing the tennis ball before delivering his serve. Chair umpire Marijana Veljović addressed the pace of play by warning the German player to speed up his service preparation. Shelton's father and coach, Bryan Shelton, commented on the tactic during television coverage of the match.

Sascha bounces the ball so often, that brings you out.

Despite the pro-American crowd and the warning from the chair umpire, Zverev maintained his baseline consistency throughout the fourth set. The German conceded only a single break across the entire match, improving his record against left-handed opponents to 45 victories in his last 46 matches.

Grand Slam record and tour standings

The victory concluded a sequence of three consecutive Grand Slam final appearances for Zverev in 2026, following his French Open title in early June and a runner-up finish to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in July. The result also provided a reversal of his 2020 US Open final, when he surrendered a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem and finished two points short of the title in an empty stadium. The New York tournament saw defending champion Carlos Alcaraz return from a four-month injury absence before losing to Shelton in the quarter-finals, while world number one Sinner withdrew before the event due to a right knee injury. Shelton missed the opportunity to become the first American male player to win a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003. Following the tournament win, Zverev reduced the gap to Sinner in the ATP rankings to fewer than 2,000 points.