A hilarious moment was caught on camera after top seed Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton in the men’s singles final at the 2026 US Open. When Shelton’s return sailed beyond the baseline on match point, Zverev initially failed to realise that he had won his maiden US Open title. However, a section of the German crowd quickly alerted him, prompting the jubilant Zverev to raise his arms in celebration with a broad smile on his face.
HE DIDN’T REALIZE HE’D WON
Alexander Zverev exorcises his 2020 demons and defeats Shelton 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 to win his first US Open title! pic.twitter.com/f0Cnl2xvgI
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2026
Zverev won his second major championship and disappointed a crowd that was desperate to see the first Grand Slam title by an American man since 2003.
Zverev finally broke through in the majors by winning this year’s French Open and followed up by adding the title in New York that he so painfully let slip away in 2020.
The No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam for the first time, he capitalized 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.
“I know today 99.9% of the people wanted Ben to win, so I’m very sorry first of all,” Zverev said during the trophy presentation. “But second, it was an incredible atmosphere to play in. Even though I know that the crowd was against me, the crowd was always incredibly fair.”
Zverev also reached the final at Wimbledon, falling to Jannik Sinner, and became the No. 1 seed in New York when the top-ranked Sinner had to withdraw with a knee injury. He made the most of opportunities that came when Carlos Alcaraz had to sit out two majors and Sinner missed another, after they played in three straight Grand Slam finals in 2025.
“I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through and I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before,” Zverev said, addressing his team.
(With AP Inputs)
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