Zverev beats Shelton in four sets for the US Open title.

Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 in the US Open men’s singles final on Sunday, 13 September, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, BBC Sport, ABC News, NBC, and Sports Illustrated reported. The match lasted about 3 hours 33 minutes on the ABC and matching wire clocks. Zverev, the tournament’s top seed and the world No. 2, took his first US Open title and his second major of the calendar year after winning the French Open in June.

Shelton, the eighth seed, reached his first Grand Slam final. He had beaten Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals on the path printed by BBC, NBC, and SI. The American was aiming to become the first U.S. man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open. That streak remains intact after Sunday’s result.

BBC Sport’s match narrative sets the opening sequence. Shelton lost serve in the first game; Zverev broke again on set point and took the first set 6-3. Shelton double-faulted on break point in that opening game and again on set point. Zverev used his first serve and pressed Shelton’s backhand in the baseline exchanges. The second set reached a tie-break. Zverev won it 7-2 and led two sets to love.

The third set shifted. Shelton began to pressure Zverev’s serve, took a third break opportunity, and won the set 7-5 with the Arthur Ashe crowd behind him. The fourth set opened with a poor Shelton service game on the BBC account. Zverev broke, reasserted control, and closed 6-2. On championship point Shelton hit a return long. BBC reported that Zverev did not immediately register the win until his team pointed out the score.

Across the fortnight, BBC noted Zverev had not faced a top-20 opponent until Shelton in the final and had not lost to Shelton in five previous meetings. Shelton’s quarterfinal over Alcaraz ended in the early morning hours after an epic; the American then beat Tiafoe in the semifinals. Those results did not extend to a first major title against the world No. 2.

Ranking consequences are on the Monday ATP tables as framed by the wires. Zverev remains world No. 2. Shelton rises to a career-high world No. 4 when the latest ATP rankings are published on Monday, BBC and SI stated. The tournament seeding and the published world ranking are separate: Zverev was the US Open No. 1 seed while holding No. 2 behind Jannik Sinner on the world list.

The scoreline, venue, duration, titles, Shelton’s path through Alcaraz and Tiafoe, the Roddick benchmark, and the Monday ranking moves are the hard facts locked to BBC Sport, ABC News (Australia), NBC, and Sports Illustrated for 13–14 September 2026. The desk does not add forecasts about year-end No. 1 or about future Slam winners. The observable record is four sets, one new US Open champion, one first-time finalist, and two ranking lines the reader can check on Monday.

What comes next is checkable: Monday’s ATP rankings list (Zverev No. 2; Shelton career-high No. 4 on the wires); the published 2026 Slam tally with Zverev’s French Open and US Open titles.

Floor: Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 over Shelton in ~3h 33m at Arthur Ashe; first US Open, second Slam of 2026 after French Open June; Shelton to Monday ATP No. 4.