Germany's Alexander Zverev beats Ben Shelton to win US Open title
Baku, September 14, AZERTAC
Zverev dashed Shelton's hopes of becoming the first Black player to win the men's championship since Arthur Ashe in 1968 and the first American man to win the title since Andy Roddick in Flushing Meadows in 2003, according to Euronews.
Germany's Alexander Zverev on Sunday conquered the US Open, defeating American Ben Shelton in four sets at the Arthur Ashe Stadium to claim his US Open title and the second Grand Slam trophy of his career.
Six years after letting a two-set lead slip against Dominic Thiem in the 2020 final, the German top seed returned to New York and this time finished the job beating Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday.
Zverev knew what he was up against, playing a US Open final in a stadium full of people desperate to at last see another American champion.
He tuned out the screams for Ben Shelton for so long that he didn’t even realise when he won, not hearing the chair umpire’s announcement that the match was over.
“In that moment I was in the zone, a lot,” Zverev said. “I didn’t hear noise at all. I was in this kind of tunnel where I just didn’t hear anything.”
The German's win in New York redeems the painful 2020 loss, where he let things slip away.
Being a no. 1 seed in a Grand Slam for the first time, Zverev capitalised on Shelton’s shaky start in his first major final, played a nearly flawless tiebreaker on serve and then turned back a comeback attempt in front of a crowd that feverishly cheered Shelton on — including girlfriend Trinity Rodman, who made it from her own soccer match in Washington before the finish.
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