2026 US Open Men's Final: Zverev vs. Shelton

[the AntiPusher]

You did, and I think he showed improvement on the backhand side, but might have regressed a bit with Zverev. But I think the problem is also the predictability - not sure if he's work on that. I don't know if I'd quite call him a serve-bot - like Zverev, he's got more to his game. But he is "serve-botty" and, more to my point, doesn't surprise you on court

I would not consider Ben a serve bot either. Actually, Sascha had a much better first and 2nd serve percentage and mph than Ben.

 

[El Dude]

Either way, this Slam title has separated Zverev from guys like Medvedev and even Roddick and Chang, I think. Of two Slam winners, the only one who was clearly greater than Zverev was Ilie Nastase. I'd say Zverev's resume is right there with Smith and Hewitt, and probably better than everyone else (Safin, Rafter, Kafelnikov, Bruguera, Kriek). The surly German is moving up in the world!

 

[Fiero425]

Either way, this Slam title has separated Zverev from guys like Medvedev and even Roddick and Chang, I think. Of two Slam winners, the only one who was clearly greater than Zverev was Ilie Nastase. I'd say Zverev's resume is right there with Smith and Hewitt, and probably better than everyone else (Safin, Rafter, Kafelnikov, Bruguera, Kriek). The surly German is moving up in the world!

If he had just finished off Alcaraz "down under," it might've changed the course of history; at least w/ him making all 4 Major Finals & giving Djokovic a better chance at #25 since Sascha's been his doormat for years! I'm still happy for the guy & I think this can only elevate his confidence, m/b making more noise the rest of the reason trying to attain #1 status!

 

[Vince Evert]

The Tennis Letter's Post on X where Zverev pays tribute to his mother.​

• @TheTennisLetter
  Zverev gave an emotional speech after winning the U.S. Open about his mom and how she helped him achieve his dreams despite struggling with diabetes “I wanna thank one more person who’s never actually watching my matches but is the most important person in my tennis life and in my life in general. When your 4 year old son gets diagnosed with diabetes, and doctors in the office tell you that life and sports will be very very limited for that child, it takes a very very strong mother to walk out of those offices and say ‘My son will be wherever he wants to be.
  If he wants to be a tennis player he’ll be a tennis player. If he wants to do something else, he’ll do something else. But this illness will not define us.’ My mother is the most important and strongest person I know. It takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did.”
  00:35 / 01:15
  7:50 AM · Sep 14, 2026395.1KViews
  
  
  
  
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[Vince Evert]

Congratulations to Zverev. It looked like he forgotten or didn't know what the score was when he won the Championship point, extraordinary stuff
What a great year Sasha has had winning two GS and runners up at Wimbly. Well deserved.
He's got the monkey off his back.

Bad luck, Ben Shelton. I was hoping he would win as it would have been good to see the first american male since Roddick won in 2003.
What a tournament he's had?

 

[Vince Evert]

a good look at the final stats, all credit goes to flashscore -

Alexander Zverev - Ben Shelton 3-1

ATP - SINGLES: US Open (USA), hard - Final

www.flashscore.co.za

 

[Vince Evert]

Winners are Grinners.

 

[Vince Evert]

The complete final now available on the official U S Open channel:

 

[Vince Evert]

ESPN have announced the ratings for both mens and womens finals, as you would expect with Shelton in the final, led to huge ratings.

US Open Men’s Championship averages 3.2M viewers, ESPN’s largest audience ever - ESPN Press Room

Sunday’s US Open Men’s Championship match between Ben Shelton and eventual champion Alexander Zverev attracted an average audience of 3.2M viewers on ABC, the

espnpressroom.com