Zverev beats Shelton in a four set US Open final, does his second major this year make him the man to beat now

[Comet Barrel]

Alexander Zverev closed out the 2026 season's final Grand Slam in some style, beating home favourite Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(7-2), 5-7, 6-2 to win the US Open and claim the second major title of his year, having already lifted the French Open trophy back in the spring and reached the final at Wimbledon on top of that. The German was ruthless in the opening set, racking up just three unforced errors to Shelton's eleven, and while Shelton clawed his way back into it by taking the third set after finally landing his only break of the match in the marathon 66th game, Zverev slammed the door shut immediately in the fourth, breaking straight back after a 24 point rally and cruising home from there.

For Shelton, there is still plenty to be proud of even in defeat. He became only the second American man to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick's last major win back in 2003, and he was also the first Black American man to contest a US Open final since Arthur Ashe all the way back in 1972, so the historical weight around his run to the final was considerable even before a ball was struck against Zverev. That 23 year wait for an American man to actually win one of the four majors now rolls on into a 24th year, and there is no obvious candidate on the immediate horizon who looks ready to end it either.

What this result really cements is that Zverev has quietly put together the standout season on the men's side in 2026, a French Open title, a Wimbledon final and now a US Open crown, which is a résumé most of his rivals would happily sign up for without a second thought. The obvious question now is whether this is the start of a genuine multi year run at the very top of the sport for Zverev, or whether the year end rankings and the Australian Open in January will tell a rather different story once the rest of the field regroups over the off season.

[Wasp]

A French Open, a Wimbledon final and now the US Open in the same calendar year is genuinely the most complete season Zverev has ever put together. People have questioned his big match temperament for years and he has just answered that about as emphatically as possible.

[PowerhouseHobbs]

Curious whether this pushes Zverev to world number one by year end or whether the ranking math still favours someone else even with two majors in the bag. The points system can be brutal like that when a player misses big events elsewhere in the calendar.

[VectorSeer79]

That fourth set breakback after a 24 point rally is the kind of detail that gets lost in a quick score line but it probably tells you everything about the mental gap between these two players in the biggest moments of a match like this.

[Amber Tiger]

Shelton being the first Black American man in a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972 deserved way more coverage around this match than it seemed to get. That is a genuinely significant piece of tennis history regardless of how the final itself played out.

[StoneCold_Mike]

Shelton should still hold his head high here. Reaching a final at all after that long an American drought is a real achievement, and the way he clawed the third set back showed he was not just there to make up the numbers against Zverev.

[MurkyInlet]

I still think Sinner and Alcaraz have more raw ceiling than Zverev when both are fully fit, but neither of them can currently point to a season with two Slam finals won in it, so credit where it is due for what Zverev has actually delivered this year.

[Connor75]

24 years and counting for American men at the majors is starting to look less like a blip and more like a structural problem in how the country develops its top male talent compared to the women's side, which has been far more consistently dominant over the same period