NEW YORK — Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday to win the US Open and claim his second Grand Slam title.
Zverev overcame a crowd that strongly supported Shelton and ended the American’s bid to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.
“I know today 99.9% of the people wanted Ben to win, so I’m very sorry first of all,” Zverev said during the trophy presentation. “But second, it was an incredible atmosphere to play in. Even though I know that the crowd was against me, the crowd was always incredibly fair.”
Zverev said he became so focused during the match that he did not hear the chair umpire announce that it had ended. After hitting a winning serve, he moved behind the baseline as if he expected to continue playing before realizing he had won.
“In that moment I was in the zone, a lot,” Zverev said. “I didn’t hear noise at all. I was in this kind of tunnel where I just didn’t hear anything.”
The victory capped a season in which Zverev also won the French Open and reached the Wimbledon final. He improved to 25-2 in Grand Slam matches this year and earned $5.5 million, matching women’s champion Elena Rybakina’s record Grand Slam prize.
Zverev entered the US Open as the No. 1 seed for the first time at a Grand Slam after top-ranked Jannik Sinner withdrew with a knee injury.
The victory also ended the lingering disappointment from Zverev’s 2020 US Open final loss to Dominic Thiem. Zverev led Thiem by two sets and came within two points of victory before losing in five sets.
Shelton reached his first Grand Slam final after defeating defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal that ended at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish in US Open history.
The 23-year-old also sought to become the first Black man to win the US Open men’s title since Arthur Ashe in 1968. Shelton fell to 0-6 against Zverev and won a set against him for only the second time.
Shelton struggled from the start Sunday. He lost the first two points of his opening service game and then committed a double fault to give Zverev an early break.
Zverev maintained the advantage throughout the first set, which ended with another Shelton double fault.
Zverev’s deliberate service routine also limited the crowd’s impact. He repeatedly bounced the ball before starting his service motion, creating long stretches when spectators had to remain quiet.
Shelton broke Zverev in the third set for the only time in the match and forced a fourth set.
Zverev regained control immediately, breaking Shelton in the opening game of the fourth set and maintaining the lead until he secured the championship.
