Ben Shelton is one win away from becoming the first American man to capture a Grand Slam singles title for the first time since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open.
Two years ago, Taylor Fritz was this close at this same event — but Jannik Sinner stood in his way. Unsurprisingly, Fritz was not competitive in that final. Now there is no Sinner, no Carlos Alcaraz, no Novak Djokovic, no Roger Federer, and no Rafael Nadal as the final hurdle. The door is open for Shelton with Alexander Zverev on the other side of the net in the U.S. Open final.
Of course, that’s not to say that Zverev is some kind of slouch. The German is a Grand Slam champ in his own right after triumphing at the French Open earlier this season and is playing in his sixth major final. He has reached at least the semis at all four Grand Slams in 2026, including three finals.
Zverev’s current run at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center almost never got off the ground. His first two rounds resulted in five-setters against Lorenzo Sonego and Quentin Halys late into the night, lasting a total of nine hours and 25 minutes. However, he has since reeled off four consecutive straight-set wins at the expense of Alejandro Tabilo, Luciano Darderi, Botic van de Zandschulp, and Karen Khachanov.
Shelton has been the more impressive of the two throughout this tournament — and during this entire North American hard-court swing. Whereas Zverev won a total of two matches across visits to the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters 1000s, Shelton lifted the Montreal trophy. The world No.9 (and soon-to-be world No. 4) has not slowed down in NYC, where a trip to his first slam final featured defeats of Alcaraz (a five-setter that ended at 3:33 am) and Cincinnati runner-up Frances Tiafoe.
Of concern for Shelton is that he is 0-5 lifetime against Zverev. Three of their five H2H matchups have been very competitive, but the lefty just hasn’t played the big points well against his nemesis. Case in point: he is 0-4 against Zverev in tiebreakers.
On the bright side for the underdog’s prospects this weekend, he is already a much-improved player from the one that was on display during his most recent losses to Zverev in 2025. Look no further than his efforts in Montreal and to an even greater extent against Alcaraz and Tiafoe in his last two matches to identify Shelton’s obvious improvements in his defense, return of serve, and backhand shot tolerance. Zverev is playing the best tennis of his career right now, as well, but he was pretty much a finished product when he rolled to his 5-0 H2H lead over Shelton.
It’s time for Shelton to turn the tide against Zverev — and to turn the tide of recent American tennis history.
Pick: Shelton in 5
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.