For a passing moment at the end of a rugged third set, hope sprung anew for Ben Shelton. He had been outserved and outplayed for nearly three hours, but at 6-5 in the third set, one game from defeat, the American finally broke through. He burst into the return game finally pounding his forehand freely and he willed himself into an unexpected fourth set.

After he had finished pumping his fist, cupping his ear to the crowd and admirably trying to initiate a drastic momentum shift, the next sequence was most revealing. Shelton opened the fourth set with a shaky game, immediately losing his serve at the start of the set. He worked hard until the end, but he was beaten by Zverev, the top seed, who closed out a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 victory to lift his second grand slam title of the year.

Having started his season desperately searching for his first major title, Zverev has become just the fourth man in the open era, after Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas and Jannik Sinner to win his first two grand slam titles in the same campaign. He ended Shelton’s hopes of becoming the first Black American man since Arthur Ashe in 1968 and the first American man since Andy Roddick in 2003 to win the US Open.

Perhaps the most relevant detail in this rivalry is the head to head. Zverev now leads Shelton 6-0, a comfortable match-up for the German who served far better than Shelton, remained far steadier from the baseline and, as usual, nullified the effects of the left-hander’s forehand with the quality of his elite two-handed backhand.

In a match between two of the biggest servers, the first job for both players was to take care of his service. A visibly tense Shelton served terribly during the decisive moments of the first set, double-faulting on break point in the first game of the match. Shelton then double-faulted on set point to hand over a second break. He was no match for Zverev from the baseline, and his forehand was far too erratic. Zverev, meanwhile, served extremely well throughout the match, landing 69% of first serves and winning 85% of first-serve points.

Shelton managed to build rhythm behind his service games in set two, putting Zverev under some pressure by forcing a tie-break, but the German handled the most important moment of the match well. He snatched the first mini-break with an excellent forehand passing-shot winner off a timid approach from Shelton, then he ended a similarly tense exchange with a vicious down-the-line forehand to take the second mini-break. Two big unreturned serves later, Zverev led 5-0 in the tie-break and the set was all but over.

Although Shelton worked hard to force a fourth set, it did not take long for Zverev to close out a victory that appeared inevitable from the first game.

This match was a fitting ending to a dreary grand slam season on the ATP tour that has been dictated by the injuries and physical issues suffered by Carlos Alcaraz, who returned from a long injury layoff at this tournament, and Jannik Sinner. Their challenges presented so many players at the top of the sport with golden opportunities to step up and compete for major titles, but so few of them over the past five months even managed to put themselves in real contention. Zverev has been rewarded for his consistency and ability to continue to put himself in positive positions deep in the majors. Each victory has clearly strengthened him mentally.

For plenty of tennis fans and viewers around the world, however, no amount of on-court success can erase the discomfort that comes with seeing Zverev succeed. He has been accused by two of his former girlfriends, Olya Sharypova and Brenda Patea, of physical abuse. In June 2024, during his run to the French Open final, Zverev settled an assault case against him in Germany for allegedly pushing and strangling Patea, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of their daughter. The case was declared no verdict, with a court spokesperson stating: “The truth remains open.” Zverev denied those charges and he has denied all allegations against him.

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At the Australian Open last year, Zverev was heckled by a fan before his trophy ceremony speech, with the fan declaring: “Australia believes Olya and Brenda.” Zverev’s three grand slam finals this year have progressed without issue and he remains a popular player at major tournaments.

For Shelton, who began his North American hard court swing attempting to recover from a painful first round loss at Wimbledon, the greatest summer of his career included a second Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open, a first grand slam final and a new career high ranking of No 4.

His success is testament to his continued improvement and at 23 years old there is much more to come. However, some of those deficiencies, particularly his ground game and return of serve, can still be exposed by the elite, as it was during his lonely Sunday afternoon inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.