Great backhand return by Ben Shelton that beats Alexander Zverev and wins the point
Great forehand from the baseline by Alexander Zverev that beats Ben Shelton and wins the point
Flat serve by Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton’s return goes out
!!! ALEXANDER ZVEREV WAKES UP SLEEPY IN THIS FIRST SET !!! And after an unforced error comes his third double fault of the match. 15-30.
Alexander Zverev misses his second serve, double fault
Flat serve by Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton’s return goes out
Alexander Zverev’s backhand goes out
Alexander Zverev’s weakness is precisely in the service where his 94% first serve points won (15/16) contrasts with 14% points won on the second serve (1/7).
Ben Shelton relies heavily on his first serve because in rallies he is worse than Alexander Zverev. He is more explosive, possibly better at net face-offs. But the German is very solid with his forehand with heights in his opponent’s backhand zone.
!!! SECOND DOUBLE FAULT OF THE MATCH FOR BEN SHELTON AND SET FOR ALEXANDER ZVEREV IN 40 MINUTES !!! The American started badly and ended worse, serving the first act of this great final on a silver platter to the German.
Ben Shelton misses his second serve, double fault
!!!! SET POINT FOR ALEXANDER ZVEREV, MUCH MORE PATIENT IN LONG RALLIES !!!!
Ben Shelton hits his backhand into the net
Flat serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev’s return goes out
!!! SET BALL SOUGHT AT ARTHUR ASHE IN FLUSHING MEADOWS !!! 15-30.
Ben Shelton hits his backhand into the net
Ben Shelton’s volley goes out
Ace by Ben Shelton with a flat serve that Alexander Zverev cannot return
!!!! ALEXANDER ZVEREV TAKES ADVANTAGE OF BEN SHELTON’S RUSH ERROR WITH 15-30 AND PULLS OUT HIS FIRST SERVES TO RETURN AT THIS MOMENT TO WIN THE FIRST SET OF THE GRAND FINAL OF THE US OPEN !!!!
Flat serve by Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton’s return goes out
Smash from the center of the court by Alexander Zverev that gives Ben Shelton no chance
Ben Shelton’s forehand goes out
The second double fault and a net cord by Alexander Zverev bring Ben Shelton back to break point. And Arthur Ashe celebrates it; especially because it is the first first serve lost by the world number 2. 15-30.
Alexander Zverev’s forehand goes out
Alexander Zverev misses his second serve, double fault
Ben Shelton hits his backhand into the net
!!! GAME FOR BEN SHELTON !!! He is still behind but celebrates because it had become complicated. Alexander Zverev’s returns on some of his serves have helped. Still, the German continues to take the initiative. New balls.
Second topspin serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev cannot place the return and the ball goes out
Alexander Zverev hits his backhand into the net
And after two free points on the American’s serve (one with second serve at 15-30 and another with first serve); and an intense rally, we go to the first deuce of this great US Open final.
Ben Shelton hits his backhand into the net
Flat serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev’s return goes out
Second topspin serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev cannot place the return and the ball goes out
Ben Shelton’s forehand goes out
Ben Shelton’s forehand goes out
Ace by Ben Shelton with a flat serve that Alexander Zverev cannot return
!!! ALEXANDER ZVEREV COMES BACK FROM 0-30 AND CONTINUES TO IMPOSE THE LAW OF HIS FIRST SERVES FINISHED AT THE NET !!!
Ace by Alexander Zverev with a flat serve that Ben Shelton cannot return
Alexander Zverev wins the point with a backhand at the net
Flat serve by Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton’s return goes out
Alexander Zverev wins the point with a volley close to the net
!!! BEN SHELTON GETS FIRED UP AFTER A CROSSCOURT FROM ALEXANDER ZVEREV THAT WENT SLIGHTLY INTO THE DOUBLES ALLEY, AND IN A DISPLAY OF REFLEXES AT THE NET ON A GERMAN APPROACH !!! 0-30.
Ben Shelton wins the point with a volley close to the net
Alexander Zverev’s backhand goes out
Ben Shelton solidifies his serve, adds his second ace of the match and raises his first serve percentage to 79% (11 of 14), with the three misses coming in the first game which he lost. That is, except for that start, everything is back to what was expected from this final.
Alexander Zverev hits his forehand into the net
Ace by Ben Shelton with a flat serve that Alexander Zverev cannot return
Alexander Zverev’s backhand goes out
Smash from the center of the court by Ben Shelton that gives Alexander Zverev no chance
!!! GREAT PARALLEL FOREHAND AT 30-30 THAT CLEARED ANY BREAK THREAT FROM BEN SHELTON !!! Despite the double fault, the German continues to rely on his first serves to control his service games.
Ben Shelton hits his forehand into the net
Great forehand from the baseline by Alexander Zverev that beats Ben Shelton and wins the point
Read more Alonso and Sainz, battle on and off the track: “He pushed me against the wall”
Alexander Zverev hits his forehand into the net
Flat serve by Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton’s return goes out
Flat serve by Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton’s return goes out
!!! FIRST DOUBLE FAULT OF THE MATCH FOR ALEXANDER ZVEREV !!! 0-15.
Alexander Zverev misses his second serve, double fault
BEN SHELTON GOES SCORELESS TO RETURN TO HIS NATURAL HABITAT AND LET THE FIRST GAME BE AN ANECDOTE OF IT BEING HIS FIRST GRAND SLAM FINAL, AND ALSO AT HOME. Free points on first serves for the Atlanta player who opens his game count.
Flat serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev’s return goes out
Flat serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev’s return goes out
Flat serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev’s return goes out
Flat serve by Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev’s return goes out
!!! ALEXANDER ZVEREV CONFIRMS THANKS TO GOOD FIRST SERVES AND FINISHING AT THE NET !!! The Roland Garros champion is calm, and now the American crowd rallies behind Ben Shelton, whose mission is to shake off those initial nerves.
Flat serve by Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton’s return goes out
Volley from Alexander Zverev that gives Ben Shelton no chance
Volley from Alexander Zverev that gives Ben Shelton no chance
Alexander Zverev’s forehand goes out
Smash from the center of the court by Alexander Zverev that gives Ben Shelton no chance
!!! ALEXANDER ZVEREV BREAKS, BEN SHELTON’S NERVES PLAYING AT HOME GIVE HIM THE GAME !!! Two forehand errors and the first double fault of the match are to blame.
Ben Shelton misses his second serve, double fault
!!! BEN SHELTON MISSES THE WRAPPING FOREHAND AND ALEXANDER ZVEREV ENJOYS HIS FIRST BREAK POINT OF THE MATCH !!! It’s already the second forehand error in this game.
Ben Shelton’s forehand goes out
Ben Shelton wins the point with a volley close to the net
Ace by Ben Shelton with a flat serve that Alexander Zverev cannot return
!!! AND ALEXANDER ZVEREV STARTS PRESSURING !!! What a point won with the German planted at the net and playing against an American player who needs good first serves to avoid the environmental pressure turning against him. 0-30.
Ben Shelton hits his backhand into the net
Ben Shelton’s forehand goes out
The chair umpire will be Serbian Marijana Veljovic. There was a storm this morning in New York that cooled the atmosphere, but it will not rain and the match will be played outdoors. So get ready to enjoy a Grand Slam final. Ben Shelton will serve first.
But Ben Shelton is here to break all statistics, he has a whole country behind him, especially 23,771 spectators who sang the United States anthem with feeling, and who will be completely crazy supporting him, bringing us a bit closer to the old and remembered Davis Cup.
And, attention, the head-to-head is very one-sided with a clear 5-0 for Alexander Zverev over Ben Shelton, who has only taken one set from him and that was in their first meeting in 2024 (Cincinnati quarterfinals). The rest of the matches were in 2025 and were decided quickly, the last being 6-3 and 7-6 in the Round Robin of the ATP Finals indoor.
And it helped him consolidate in the elite, apart from the problems of Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz. Very settled at world number 2 after a spectacular year where he was finalist at Wimbledon and Madrid, semifinalist at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Monaco, Munich, and Halle.
Alexander Zverev, 29 years old and from Hamburg, is not coached by his brother but by his father, is making 2026 his year in which he has broken his particular “glass ceiling” with his great victory at Roland Garros. Olympic Games winner (Tokyo 2021), ATP Finals (two), Masters 1000 (seven), that win against Flavio Cobolli shattered all the ghosts he had in his head.
He is disputing, in fact, his first Grand Slam final. And the path has not been easy, he struggled to get past Griekspoor, Hurkacz, and Shapovalov in the early rounds, to cruise past Tsitsipas in the round of 16. Then, the heroic feat of eliminating Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set match that went until 3:30 in the morning, before winning the semifinal derby against Tiafoe.
Installed in the World Top Ten since reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2025; in 2026 he started well with the Australian Open quarterfinals and the Dallas title and, above all, the Munich title on clay before disappearing on clay. He returned with a grass title, Stuttgart, before disappearing on grass and focusing on an American tour where he defended points and things couldn’t have gone better.
Ben Shelton has not failed the tradition of left-handers at the US Open. With a two-handed backhand and about to turn 24, his coach is his brother Bryan Shelton. He is disputing the tenth final of his career, holding seven titles, the most important not won in his country but in the neighboring one as he is the reigning double champion of the Canadian Masters 1000 (2025 and 2026).
Two players whose main weapon is the serve, so today we will see several stretches without rhythm or long rallies. But they can also stand out in other aspects such as the two-handed backhand of the German; or the tremendous confidence to mix calm and explosiveness on the American side, besides playing at home.
For his part, Ben Shelton has the opportunity to be the first American to win his country’s Grand Slam since Andy Roddick in 2003, who was the last not only to win a major on the ATP but also to reach a final. Also, if he wins today, for the first time since 2014 there will be four different Grand Slam winners in the same season.
A match that, one way or another, will break records as neither Carlos Alcaraz nor Jannik Sinner, the circuit’s references in the last two years, are present. On one hand, Alexander Zverev aims to be the first German player to win two Grand Slams in the same year since Boris Becker in 1989, when he won Wimbledon and the US Open.
Hello, good afternoon to all tennis lovers in general and to all followers of the US Open in particular. Next, we will offer you live coverage of the great final of the last Grand Slam of the season to be played at the majestic Arthur Ashe located in the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York between the world number 1, the German Alexander Zverev, and the local idol, the ninth-ranked player in the world, Ben Shelton.
