US Open Men’s Final Preview: Ben Shelton Chases American History Against Alexander Zverev in US Open Final

Ben Shelton will attempt to break one of the longest droughts in American tennis when he faces Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s US Open men’s singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Not since Andy Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2003 final has an American man won a Grand Slam singles title. Shelton is also the first Black American man to reach the championship match in New York since Arthur Ashe finished runner-up to Ilie Nastase in 1972.

Victory would place the 23-year-old in even more distinguished company. He would become the first Black American man to win the US Open singles title since Ashe captured the inaugural Open-era tournament in 1968, and the first Black man from any country to win a major singles title since Yannick Noah triumphed at Roland Garros in 1983.

Yet Shelton must overcome an opponent he has never beaten. Zverev has won all five of their previous encounters and 10 of the 11 sets they have played, establishing a commanding advantage across hard, clay and grass courts.

That history makes the German the logical favourite, but Shelton has spent this fortnight overturning similar records.

“Problem-solving has been the name of the game here,” Shelton said. “I was 0-1 against Stef, 0-3 against Carlos, Foe beat me the last time we played on this court. It’s been a lot of uphill battle, so I think I’m fully ready for the challenge to problem-solve.”

Two very different journeys to the final

Zverev arrived in New York as the top seed for the first time in a Major, and reigning Roland Garros champion, having finally secured his first major title earlier this season. He also reached the Wimbledon final, and Sunday will mark his third consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam championship match.

His US Open campaign, however, has not been as easy as he might’ve hoped.

Zverev needed five sets in each of his first two rounds. His second-round match against Quentin Halys ended with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3 victory deep into the New York night. From that point, his tennis became much more straightforward: the German won his next four matches without surrendering another set.

In the semi-finals, Zverev defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6), recording his seventh victory in 10 meetings with the Russian. Khachanov’s break of serve in the second set ended Zverev’s run of 37 consecutive service games without being broken, but the top seed recovered to win both tiebreaks and advance in straight sets.

“After the second round at 3am, me and my team were in the dressing room actually laughing at how bad I was playing,” Zverev said after the semi-final. “That sense of humour helped me.“

“I have improved a little bit, otherwise I wouldn’t be in the US Open final.”

Shelton’s journey has been more turbulent and, at its best, spectacular.

He opened with a 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over Tallon Griekspoor, recovering after holding serve only once in the opening set. Further four-set victories over Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov followed before Shelton defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the fourth round.

His defining performance came against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. Shelton entered that match with three defeats from three encounters with the seven-time major winner, but prevailed 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6[7]. The contest finished at 3.33am, making it the latest-finishing match in US Open history.

Less than three days later, Shelton recovered from another lost opening set to defeat Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in an electric all-American semi-final.

“For me, this whole tournament now at this point has been uncharted territory,” Shelton said. “I’m in positions I’ve never been in before.

“I’ve beaten guys — beaten a guy or guys that I have never beaten before. I’m just excited to put it all out on the line.”

Zverev’s imposing head-to-head record

The most daunting statistic confronting Shelton is Zverev’s 5-0 record in their rivalry.

Their first meeting, at Cincinnati in 2024, is the only one in which Shelton has taken a set. The American won the opener before Zverev recovered to prevail in three. Since then, the German has won 10 consecutive sets against him.

Zverev defeated Shelton in the 2025 Munich final and again in Stuttgart, before adding straight-set victories in Cincinnati and at the ATP Finals in Turin. Four sets in the rivalry have required tiebreaks, and Zverev has won all four.

Those results show why the match-up has been so difficult for Shelton. Zverev’s two-handed backhand is one of the strongest in the sport and is particularly effective against the patterns used by left-handed opponents. He can absorb Shelton’s cross-court forehand without leaving a short ball and is comfortable dealing with the American’s swinging serve towards the backhand side from the advantage court.

Zverev also possesses enough serving power to deny Shelton frequent opportunities to attack. Through six matches in New York, the German has struck 87 aces, compared with Shelton’s 71.

“Ben is just a big, powerful guy,” Zverev said. “Massive serve, massive groundstrokes. Everything he does is just big.”

The final, however, will be their first meeting over five sets and their first at a Grand Slam. It will also be played in front of an Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd desperate to see an American champion.

Shelton believes he is no longer the comparatively raw player Zverev handled in their earlier encounters.

“I feel that I’m a different player,” he said. “I feel like I have so many more tools. I feel like I know my identity, am comfortable in my own skin, and I know what it takes for me to be playing top-level tennis.”

His improvement has been most apparent on return, on the backhand side and in his willingness to remain patient from the baseline. The serve and explosive forehand remain his most obvious weapons, but he is now considerably better equipped to construct points when an opponent withstands the initial attack.

“I still feel so many categories that I think I have a long way to go, but I’ve made improvements and changes in some of the most important categories to be able to compete at the top,” Shelton said.

“Return of serve, stability from the baseline, even my serve, the way that I go about putting together my service games has improved, and my ability to focus for long periods of time are all areas that have come together and have helped me play at the level I’m playing.“

“But the pursuit and hunger to get better, to find ways that I can improve, it’s just a part of who I am and something that will never change.”

Can Shelton turn the final into a spectacle?

Shelton’s clearest route to victory is to protect his serve, shorten points when possible and turn the match into a series of high-pressure moments. If he can reach tiebreaks or place Zverev under immediate scoreboard pressure, the crowd could become a meaningful factor.

The American cannot afford to rely entirely on free points. Zverev’s court position and reach make him an excellent blocker of first serves, while his depth from the baseline can steadily push Shelton into lower-percentage attacks. Shelton will need to vary the direction of his serve, use the body delivery and be prepared to move forward when his first strike creates space.

Zverev’s challenge will be more psychological. The German has already lived through both extremes of a Grand Slam final. At the 2020 US Open, he led Dominic Thiem by two sets and later served for the championship, only to lose in a deciding-set tiebreak. Further defeats followed in the 2024 French Open final, the 2025 Australian Open final and at Wimbledon this year before his Roland Garros breakthrough changed the context of his career.

“It was my first Grand Slam final,” Zverev said of the 2020 defeat. “I was inexperienced. I was still a young guy, I would say. Yeah, just different. Everything is different.“

“There was question marks, there was doubts whether I was ever going to win one for sure. I talked about it quite openly before. Now that I’ve won one, it’s okay.”

That first major title should allow Zverev to approach Sunday without the same burden that followed him into his previous championship matches. He knows he can complete the task, while Shelton is about to experience it for the first time….in front of a home crowd too.

The American insists that the size of the occasion will not change his approach.

“I think that I handle these big situations in my career pretty well,” Shelton said. “I feel that confidence and belief take over.

“The nerves are always there. It’s something that you got to kind of lean into. The nerves are as much there in the first round for me as in the semi-finals, and I’m sure that the finals will be the same.“

“It’s something you’ve got to be able to overcome, but for me I’m having fun. 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 is an exciting, exciting thought.”

More than a trophy at stake

The men’s final begins at 2pm local time on Sunday. The champion will receive $5.5 million and 2,000 ranking points, while the runner-up earns $2.8 million and 1,200 points.

For Zverev, victory would produce a second Grand Slam title in the space of three majors and complete a remarkable season in which he has reached the final at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

For Shelton, the rewards extend beyond money, points or personal achievement. He is carrying the possibility of ending a 23-year wait for an American men’s major champion and making history on the court bearing Ashe’s name.

The occasion also holds deep personal meaning. After defeating Tiafoe, Shelton dedicated the achievement to his grandmother Regina, who died earlier this year and whose support had helped his father and coach, Bryan, pursue a professional tennis career.

“My dad lost his mom earlier this year and she’s the reason he was able to play tennis,” Shelton said. “Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her.”

Zverev possesses the experience, the head-to-head dominance and the more stable baseline game. Shelton brings the home crowd, the tournament’s most dramatic victory and a growing confidence that difficult match-ups can be solved.

Despite there being no Carolos, no Jannik, or no Novak, New York could hardly have asked for a more interesting final.

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