New York: Germany’s Alexander Zverev was crowned US Open men’s singles champion on Sunday after overcoming home favourite Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

The 29-year-old, who entered the tournament as the top seed and is ranked No. 2 in the world, held off a spirited fightback from Shelton to seal his first US Open championship and the second Grand Slam title of his career.

Zverev took control early by winning the opening set 6-3 before edging a closely fought second-set tie-break. Shelton responded by taking the third set 7-5, but the German regained control in the fourth, breaking the American’s serve and racing to a 6-2 finish to secure the championship.

The victory also erased painful memories of the 2020 US Open final, when Zverev surrendered a two-set lead before losing to Austria’s Dominic Thiem. Six years later, he returned to the same stage to finally lift the trophy in New York.

The triumph capped an exceptional Grand Slam campaign for Zverev in 2026. He captured his first major title at the French Open, before finishing runner-up at Wimbledon and then adding the US Open crown. Earlier in the season, he also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

Zverev finished the year’s four majors with a 25-2 win-loss record, establishing 2026 as the finest Grand Slam season of his career.

For Shelton, the defeat brought an end to a breakthrough campaign in which the 23-year-old reached his first Grand Slam final. He also became the first Black American man to reach the US Open men’s singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.

Zverev’s victory also extended the wait for an American men’s singles champion at Flushing Meadows, with Andy Roddick remaining the last American man to win the US Open, in 2003.