Germany's Alexander Zverev has claimed the US Open tennis title after defeating American Ben Shelton by a scoreline of 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2, over the course of three hours and 33 minutes.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Zverev is only the second German to win the US Open, following the legendary Boris Becker in 1989.
He didn't even realise he had won the final point. Several seconds passed before the celebrations began.
Control was Zverev's from the moment he broke serve in the opening game, after Shelton served up a double fault. Another Shelton double fault handed him the first set.
Tension gripped the American, while Zverev leaned on his calm and experience. The German was faultless in the tie-break, but with the job almost done, that conservative streak ingrained in him returned. He took a step back and paid the price, dragged into an extra set.
This was Zverev's sixth win over Shelton, sealing complete superiority over the American with a tally of 13 sets to just two.
Now the German has become a candidate to reach the top of the world rankings. On the surface, he remains 1,810 points behind Jannik Sinner, yet he has collected 700 more points than the Italian this year.
Victory in New York gave Zverev his second title from the four Grand Slams, in his third consecutive major final, and the sixth of his career.
Buried, too, was the bitterness of his first US Open appearance in 2020, when the title sat within his grasp, just two points away, before he squandered a two-set lead against Austria's Dominic Thiem.
Zverev has won 26 titles across 44 finals, but the one thing he had always been missing was the pinnacle of glory: a Grand Slam.
Just two titles have come his way this season, but they came in Paris and New York. Both arrived after his defeat in the Wimbledon final, where Sinner halted his path, having failed to do so on other occasions, as at this tournament. Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, could not defend his title in the required manner, so Zverev succeeded him in the record of champions, exactly as at Roland Garros, without the Spaniard able to compete with him for the crown.
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