Alexander Zverev downs Ben Shelton to win US Open in New York

The German won his first major title at the French Open in June and he added a victory in New York to his record with a convincing win against American hero Shelton in front of a crowd firmly behind the Florida-born player.

Most of the fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium were hoping to see the first American male win the US Open for the first time since Andy Roddick's win back in 2003, but Zverev continued his dominant run against Shelton as he extended his winning record against his fellow big-server to an imposing 6-0.

Zverev'z 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 defeat of Shelton cemented his status as one of the game's all-time greats as he joined the list of multiple Grand Slam champions and he also collected the biggest prize cheque in the history of men's tennis.

At the end, Zverev served up a truly bizarre moment, as he didn't realise he had won his first title in New York until he was informed by members of his team. He hit the balls across the net to Shelton to prepare for another service game, then his coach and brother in his box to inform him that he had won the title and when he glanced up at the scoreboard, he realised he was a Grand Slam champion once again.

The new US Open champion was the nearly man of men's tennis for much of his career, but he banished that tag by winning the French Open in June.

The new king of the US Open gave an emotional speech to the crowd in New York, as he admitted his long wait for glory is finally paying off.

"We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title, and now we've won two in three months," said Zverev.

"2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before."

Zverev's moment of glory also earned him 2,000 ATP Ranking points, but he is still 1,810 behind Jannik Sinner in the race to be world No 1.

Shelton will rise to a career-high No 4 in the rankings on Monday and he has cemented his position as American No 1 after his fine run at the US Open.

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