Alexander Zverev vanquishes Ben Shelton for US Open crown

When he was four years old, Alexander Zverev was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and doctors were just concerned about him living a run-of-the-mill life.

But his mother Irina quashed that notion right away.

"It takes a very, very strong mother to walk out of those offices and to say ‘my son will be whatever he wants to be.'... this illness will not define us," said Zverev, just before he would lift the U.S. Open tennis championship trophy.

Playing in his third straight Grand Slam final, top-seeded Zverev captured his second title, defeating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday for the U.S. Open championship at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

After failing in his first three opportunities to win one of the sport's major crowns, the German has prevailed twice in his three attempts in 2026. The world's No. 2-ranked player won the French Open in June.

After beginning to be labeled as the best player never to win a major, Zverev also praised his team for their perseverance.

"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 during the post-match ceremony.

Zverev gave special thanks to Irina, who is unable to attend his matches due to anxiety.

The loss by the eighth-seeded Shelton extended American futility in the ATP Grand Slam events past the 23-year mark. Andy Roddick remains the last U.S. man to win a major when he triumphed in the 2003 U.S. Open, a span of 91 consecutive Grand Slams without an American victor.

Zverev, 29, moved his record to 6-0 against Shelton, who will nevertheless rise to a career-high No. 4 in the world rankings on Monday.

Shelton was competing in his first Grand Slam final after a breakthrough quarterfinal win over two-time U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and a triumph over fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals.

Trailing two sets to none, Shelton played a brilliant third set to extend the match. After Zverev ran his streak to 66 consecutive holds against Shelton, the 23-year-old got out to a 40-0 lead in the 12th game of the set and prolonged the match on a forehand error by the German.

Shelton produced 14 winners and only seven unforced errors in the third set.

But Zverev halted all of Shelton's momentum and his home-crowd buzz by taking advantage of three unforced errors and a double fault to break in the opening game of the fourth set. He put a stranglehold on the match with another break to lead 5-2 and served it out to prevail in three hours, 33 minutes.

After he won on match point, Zverev went back to the service line, temporarily unaware that he had won.

Zverev was dominant on serve, winning 73.3% (85 of 116) of his points, while Shelton countered at 67.2% (82 of 122). Zverev also was brilliant at the net, converting 86.2% of his points (25 of 29).

The big-serving Shelton hit 10 aces, down from the 20 he recorded in four sets vs. Tiafoe.

In his post-match comments, Zverev were bullish on the future of the man he had just conquered.

"This was your first Grand Slam final, but I told you, you're going to be back here many, many more times," Zverev said to Shelton. "If I would have to bet all my money on it, I would bet that you would lift this trophy one day."

Shelton got off to a nervous start in the match. He double-faulted at 30-40 in the first and last games of the opening set to hand the first round to Zverev.

The feisty American encouraged the home crowd to get more involved and tried to inject more of his own energy into the second set, as Zverev continually slowed the pace with double-digit bounces between missed first serves. Both players held serve throughout the dozen games of the set, but Zverev raced off to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker and improved to 5-0 vs. Shelton in all-time breakers.

Although downcast, Shelton was appreciative of the greatest run of his young career and as optimistic as Zverev is about his future.

"To the city of New York, to the fans who showed up today, to the fans at home, to the people who have been here all week, the people who stayed until four in the morning, you guys drove me, you guys brought me to... the position that I want to be in, in the finals of these tournaments.

"I'm just getting started and I'll be back here again."

--Field Level Media/Reuters