Coming into 2026, Alexander Zverev was often termed as the ‘best player to never win a Slam’ by pundits and fans alike. Now, in September of 2026, the German has two Slam titles to his name, as he made sure that a Slam drought of over two decades went along for one more year for the American men by beating Ben Shelton at the US Open final. Playing an American on Arthur Ashe can be challenging, but the World No.2 had both apologies and thanks for the New York crowd,
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“The crowd, I know that today 99.9% of the people wanted them to win, so I’m very sorry, first of all. But second, it was an incredible atmosphere to play in, even though I know that the crowd was against me,” said Zverev in his on-court interview. “The crowd was always incredibly fair, and we as players, we appreciate it. You guys brought the energy, you guys brought the noise, and we really thank you guys for that.”
The American audience was excited about the prospect of an American men’s champion at the Majors, but Zverev’s excellent performance in the final put a dent in the American dream. The 23-year drought at Slams is all set to move into another year for the American men, but given the performances, there is cause for hope in the future.
The crowd behavior at this year’s US Open has divided opinions widely, with disturbances by influencers and unsportsmanlike behavior during the Coco Gauff-Elena Rybakina semifinal drawing heavy online criticism. However, Zverev is not the only player to have shown his appreciation to the crowd, as Aryna Sabalenka also thanked the crowd after her win over Jessica Pegula in the semifinal.
While the crowd was supposed to be a factor, the very first game showed Shelton had some nerves as the American made a double fault, handing Zverev a break of serve. That one break was enough for the top seed to hold serve till 5-3. In the ninth game, he once again attacked the Shelton serve, and on set point, the American made yet another double fault, handing the first set to Zverev.
Even though Zverev had a break point in the second set, Shelton was able to save it with his powerful serve. However, the Americans could not generate any break points in the return games. His ever-reliant forehand was seeing too many unforced errors, while Zverev often stepped up to the net and hit winners of both wings, something out of the usual defensive game of the German.
The second set went to a tiebreak, and Zverev stepped up his aggressive shots. He attacked his opponent’s serve, winning return points by hitting both forehand and backhand winners. Zverev got an early 5-0 lead in the tiebreak, which was enough for him to close it out at 7-2. Facing an uphill battle, Shelton started the third set well, getting his first break point of the match in the sixth game, but could not convert as Zverev won the pressure point with a backhand winner.
The set remained on serve, with both players going for their shots when the opportunity came. However, at 6-5, Shelton got his opportunity on the Zverev serve, as the German made a few unforced errors to go 0-40 down. Even though he saved one set point, Zverev hit a volley wide, giving the set to Shelton at 7-5.
If the third set was supposed to dent Zverev‘s momentum, there were no signs of that happening as the German broke in the very first game of the fourth set. He did not face any break point on his serve, and when he broke Shelton for a second time to take a 5-2 lead, it was all but over for the American, as the World No.2 expertly served out the match, winning his second Major of the year.