US Open tennis 2026 men’s final: Alexander Zverev v Ben Shelton – live

“Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday,” Alexander Zverev said after winning his semi-final.

More quotes:

Ben, Ben is just a big, powerful guy. Massive serve, massive groundstrokes. Everything he does is just big.

Back then [in 2020] of course, it was my first grand slam final. I was inexperienced. I was still a young guy, I would say. Yeah, just different. Everything is different. I am pretty sure that the atmosphere is going to be very, very different on Sunday as well no matter who I play, but I’m looking forward to that. I think it’s going to be a fantastic feeling playing, you know, a final in a sold-out Arthur Ashe and not in an empty one.

Will this be the day that the United States’ 23-year wait for a men’s major champion ends? Ben Shelton is having a career year. He has reached four finals – Dallas, Munich, Stuttgart and Montreal – and won the title in all of them. He is:

• The first Black American man to reach the US Open singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972

• The first Black American man to reach any grand slam singles final since MaliVai Washington at Wimbledon in 1996

• The fifth American man this century to reach the US Open singles final, joining Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Taylor Fritz

• The first American man to win tour titles on hardcourt, clay and grass in the same season since Sam Querrey in 2010

Some words from Tumaini on what to expect today:

Zverev is well suited for left-handed opponents due to the strength of his two-handed backhand, which allows him to counter the effects of their swinging serve out wide from the left advantage side as well as their crosscourt forehand from the same position.

There are plenty of reasons, however, for Shelton to be hopeful that things will be different in New York. He will remind himself of the fact that they have never faced each other in a grand slam tournament, where the American so often elevates his game, and particularly that the theme of this tournament has been breaking new ground in difficult match-ups.

Ben Shelton is in a grand slam final for the first time. His previous best result at a major was a semi-final, first at the 2023 US Open and then at the 2025 Australian Open. He had lost in the third round in New York each of the past two years.

His path this year:

• First round: beat Tallon Griekspoor 1-6 6-1 7-6 (3) 6-2

• Second round: beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 5-7 7-6 (3) 7-5

• Third round: beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (3) 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-4

• Fourth round: beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 6-3 6-4

• Quarter-final: beat Carlos Alcaraz (2) 6-7 (5) 6-1 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7)

• Semi-final: beat Frances Tiafoe 6-4 3-6 3-6 7-5

Alexander Zverev was the winner at Roland Garros this year and runner-up at Wimbledon. This is his first US Open final since 2020, when he lost to Dominic Thiem at an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium during the coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s how he reached the final in New York this year:

• First round: beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4

• Second round: beat Quentin Halys 6-4 4-6 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 6-3

• Third round: beat Alejandro Tobillo (25) 6-2 7-6(2) 6-2

• Fourth round: beat Luciano Darderi (21) 6-2 6-2 7-6(3)

• Quarter-final: beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2 7-5 6-1

• Semi-final: beat Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6 (7) 7-6 (6)

In Saturday’s women’s final, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka for her first US Open title. It was a changing of the guard, of sorts: Rybakina becomes the world No 1 on Monday, ending Sabalenka’s 99-week reign atop the rankings.

Read Tumaini Carayol’s full report here:

Hello on this US Open final Sunday, where either Alexander Zverev or Ben Shelton will be crowned king of New York for the first time.

The top-seeded Zverev is playing in his fifth grand slam final and his third in a row this year. The German won his first major title at Roland Garros in June. This is the 29-year-old’s first appearance in the final in New York since 2020, when he lost to Dominic Thiem in a five-setter decided in a tiebreak. After opening the tournament with two matches that went five sets, Zverev has not dropped a set in four matches since and defeated Karen Khachanov in their semi-final to get here.

Shelton, the big-serving eighth seed, could make history today: an American man has not won the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003, and a Black American man has not won it since Arthur Ashe in 1968. The 23-year-old had an arduous path through the draw to reach his first grand slam final: four of his five matches went at least four sets. His epic quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz will go down in the US Open lore for its 3.33am finish – the latest end in tournament history – and for its result. Shelton beat countryman Frances Tiafoe in the semi-final, and now has the biggest chance of his career thus far to cement himself as one of the sport’s best.

Zverev holds a 5-0 advantage in their previous meetings. (More on those later.)

The players are due on court at 2pm local time (7pm BST). Any questions, predictions, comments, find me here.

Ella will be here shortly. In the meantime, catch up with the reports on how Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton clinched their spots in today’s final: