By Joshua Robinson

In the 36 hours before Sunday's U.S. Open final, Ben Shelton spoke over and over again about heading into uncharted territory. He was steeled for his first shot at a major title, ready to end a 23-year drought for American men at Grand Slam tournaments.

Shelton, the No. 9-ranked player in the world, had already done the unthinkable in New York. He had pressed beyond the semifinals, finished a match after 3:30 a.m., and knocked off tournament favorite Carlos Alcaraz in the process. All that remained for him was to lay this run for American tennis to rest.

But on a steamy afternoon in Queens, it became clear that the wait for a U.S. men's major champion would go on a little longer. Despite raucous home support, Shelton ran into Alexander Zverev of Germany, who surgically picked apart his game to win the U.S. Open final in four sets, 6-3, 7-6(2),5-7, 6-2.

The victory marked Zverev's second major title, just three months after his first, as he took advantage of an odd, injury-plagued season for Alcaraz and top-ranked Jannik Sinner. The 29-year-old Zverev, who had been touted as the sport's next big thing for a decade, finally broke through to win a Grand Slam on his 41st try by taking the French Open in June. The world No. 2 didn't waste any time in picking up another.

"2026 was the outcome of all the years that happened before," Zverev said.

Americans, meanwhile, have had to learn to be a bit more patient. The last U.S. man to win a major remains Andy Roddick, who became a U.S. Open champion in 2003. Since then, American men have reached major finals on six separate occasions, with each one ending the same way. Roddick lost four, all to Roger Federer. Andre Agassi dropped another, also to the Swiss master. And, most recently, Taylor Fritz was brushed aside by Jannik Sinner in straight sets at the 2024 U.S. Open.

But Shelton had reason to believe he'd been presented with as good a chance as any on Sunday. Sinner hadn't traveled to the tournament due to a knee injury and Shelton had personally dispatched Alcaraz. "I'm in positions I've never been in before," he said before the final. "I've beaten guys...that I have never beaten before. I'm just excited to put it all out on the line."

The trouble was that he had never once beaten Zverev. The German had won all five of their previous matchups, on three different surfaces, while conceding just one set.

And once again on Sunday, Zverev's ruthless efficiency proved too much. Shelton never found an opening. In fact, he didn't carve out a single break point until the match was more than two hours deep. Through the first two sets, the 6-foot-6 Zverev won a practically perfect 92% of points behind his first serve and showed how to live with the bombs coming off Shelton's racket.

Only after Zverev held a two-set lead did Shelton begin to show some signs of life. In the third, he seemed to remember the crowd was on his side. He finally forced Zverev to drop his serve for the first time in 66 games against him. And when he did, he grinned at his supporters again and urged them to make themselves heard.

But in that noise, Zverev found an extra gear, too. He opened the fourth set with a break of his own at the end of a 24-shot rally and seized back control. Less than an hour later, the Shelton resistance was over. Zverev had personally guaranteed that the barren run for American men would stretch at least into 2027.

"You're one of the very best players in the world," Shelton told him on court. "Maybe the best player in the world this year."

Write to Joshua Robinson at Joshua.Robinson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 13, 2026 18:14 ET (22:14 GMT)