ATP Tour

Can Shelton spoil Zverev’s Grand Slam resurgence & make US Open history?

Alexander Zverev is chasing his second major title of the season on Sunday at the US Open, but can Ben Shelton upset the top seed and simultaneously end a 23-year wait for an American men’s singles champion?

The pair will clash in the championship match inside Arthur Ashe Stadium not before 2 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CEST, with each chasing a significant career milestone. Zverev, the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, has been a model of consistency at the majors in 2026, breaking his Grand Slam duck in June with triumph at Roland Garros before backing that up with a run to the Wimbledon final.

It is a vast improvement from the beginning of last year, when Zverev was moved to tears after falling in his third straight major final at the Australian Open. His first came at the US Open in 2020, when he let slip a two-set lead to Dominic Thiem, and the German has since had plenty of time to reflect on how far he has come.

"I think a lot has happened," Zverev said when asked about his journey since his first major final at the 2020 US Open, which was played during COVID-19 restrictions. "I've played in a lot of other finals. I've played a lot of big matches since then. Back then, I was inexperienced.

“Now, everything is different. I am pretty sure that the atmosphere is going to be very, very different on Sunday as well [...] but I'm looking forward to that. I think it's going to be a fantastic feeling playing a final in a sold-out Arthur Ashe and not in an empty one."

Shelton will have the majority of that Arthur Ashe crowd behind him as he competes in his first Grand Slam final. The 23-year-old has displayed immense resolve throughout his run, most notably in his five-set quarter-final victory against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, which lasted until 3:33 a.m. and marked the American's first Top-3 win.

To pull off another upset, however, the explosive lefty will have to overcome a 5-0 deficit in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Zverev, who has dropped just one of the 11 sets they have played. Shelton is the third African American man in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam singles final, after Arthur Ashe and MaliVai Washington, and the World No. 9 is soaking in every moment of his run.

"I’m playing against the No. 1 seed, in a Grand Slam final, playing against a Grand Slam champion trying to get my first," Shelton said when asked about the nerves ahead of Sunday's clash. "It's a lot of reasons that this is an enjoyable moment for me and knowing that I can leave it all out there on the court and push myself to the absolute limit in every way and see what I can do is an exciting thought."

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Zverev will have the advantage of experience, having played five previous Grand Slam finals and won his first major earlier this year. Although the 29-year-old was two points away from defeat in his opening match and needed five sets in his second round too, he has since settled into his stride and remained spotless during the remainder of his campaign.

While Zverev’s typically rock-solid serving has been pivotal during his run to the second week, he has also shown supreme confidence under pressure and particular acumen in the longer exchanges. During his semi-final win over Karen Khachanov, Zverev won two dramatic tie-breaks with immense conviction when trailing to cross the line in straight sets.

Shelton, by contrast, will look to make the final as explosive as possible, with a willingness to step inside the baseline capable of putting even the best returners under immediate pressure. His athleticism also allows him to turn defence into attack, but the American will need to avoid allowing Zverev to settle into long baseline exchanges, where the German's consistency and ability to redirect pace can become increasingly difficult to overcome.

Zverev will be equally keen to make Shelton play. The German has won all five previous meetings, dropping just one set, and if he can neutralise Shelton's serve and force him into extended rallies, he will back himself to reproduce the control he has shown throughout this fortnight.

Yet their 5-0 history will count for little once the final begins. This will be their first meeting at a Grand Slam, with Shelton arriving as a more mature and confident player, while so too is Zverev, who is 24-2 at the majors in 2026 according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

The German is chasing another landmark moment in a season that has already transformed his Grand Slam fortunes. Shelton, meanwhile, has the chance to cap a breakthrough fortnight by becoming the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to lift a major singles trophy.