For years, Alexander Zverev carried the uncomfortable tag of being the best player in men’s tennis without a Grand Slam title to back it up. His career was littered with painful near-misses, none more brutal than the 2020 US Open final, where he surrendered a two-set lead to Dominic Thiem and watched his first major title slip away. Those heartbreaks followed him throughout until 2026 changed everything. Zverev finally broke the Grand Slam barrier in June by winning Roland Garros, and he has now followed that emotional triumph with another statement win in New York, beating home favourite Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 in a gruelling three-hour, 33-minute US Open final to lift the trophy at Flushing Meadows.
And perhaps the most telling image came on championship point. Zverev was so locked into the contest that after winning the final point, he walked back as if another rally was about to begin. He had forgotten the score and did not immediately realise he had won the US Open. The chair umpire’s announcement and the eruption inside Arthur Ashe Stadium eventually brought him back to reality. It was an almost surreal snapshot of a player who had spent years chasing this moment and, when it finally arrived, was too deep in the battle to recognise it had ended.
US Open 2026: Alexander Zverev Finally Conquers New York
Zverev’s US Open victory deserves to be viewed beyond the fact that it is his second Grand Slam title. Six years after the collapse against Thiem, the German returned to the same stage carrying an entirely different mental baggage. Shelton had the crowd, the occasion and the chance to end America’s long wait for a men’s Grand Slam champion, but Zverev refused to be dragged into the emotion of the night.
He absorbed the pressure, won the first two sets and, even after Shelton forced a fourth, closed out the match with the authority of a player who now knows how to finish Grand Slam finals. He also became the first German man to win the US Open since Boris Becker in 1989.
Alexander Zverev’s Breakthrough 2026 Season: From Heartbreak to Two Grand Slam Titles
What makes 2026 so important is that Roland-Garros was not an isolated breakthrough. In Paris, Zverev finally overcame three previous Grand Slam final disappointments to beat Flavio Cobolli in five sets and win his maiden major. One month later, he reached the Wimbledon final, where Jannik Sinner beat him in four sets.
Then came New York. Three consecutive Grand Slam finals, two titles and a season in which Zverev has repeatedly put himself in the biggest matches. Before 2026, he had already been a five-time major finalist; now the conversation has changed completely.
Alexander Zverev’s Humility: ‘If Everyone is Healthy, I Think Sinner is Still Ahead’
This is perhaps the part of Zverev’s story that deserves more attention. Even after becoming a two-time Grand Slam champion, he didn’t rush to declare himself the undisputed best player in men’s tennis.
Zverev said: “I think at this moment I’m probably the best player in the world. But if everybody is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead.” He also made clear that he still has work to do against the very best, particularly Sinner, against whom he has struggled in major encounters.
That humility is important. Zverev knows where he stands, but he also knows where he wants to go. He has spent years being compared with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Now, after winning two Grand Slams in one season, perhaps it is time to stop asking why he is not them.
