Alexander Zverev Beats Ben Shelton to Win 2026 US Open Men's Final Bracket

Alexander Zverev's fantastic 2026 continued in earnest on Sunday.

Zverev earned his second Grand Slam title in his career—both this season—after defeating Ben Shelton in four sets, 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2, during the U.S. Open final.

It was the expected result—Zverev was the top overall seed and was playing in his third straight Grand Slam final this season after winning the French Open and losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final.

Shelton, meanwhile, was the U.S. Open's No. 8 seed, and his run to the final included a quarterfinal upset over Carlos Alcaraz.

In a tournament full of memorable moments, Zverev provided a few more:

And Zverev was so locked in he barely realized he won once the match was over:

The 29-year-old didn't exactly have the most difficult run to his second Grand Slam title, playing just one opponent seeded in the top 20 while avoiding players like Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. But he had no control over the rest of the field.

Still, until he proves he can regularly knock off Alcaraz and Sinner in the biggest tournaments, he likely isn't going to crack the conversation of top men's player. He's 6-7 all-time against Alcaraz (2-3 in Grand Slams) but just 4-11 against Sinner (2-3 in Grand Slams).

Reaching every Grand Slam final at least once in the past two seasons, however, is a good indication that he's at least knocking on that door. And he didn't allow Shelton to fight back against him, closing the door in the fourth set after the young American showed his fight.

The tennis world still revolves around Sinner and Alcaraz when the pair are healthy. But Zverev saw the field open up favorably for him in New York and didn't let his moment pass.