Sports News

Zverev beats Shelton to win the US Open, his second Grand Slam title in three months

Alexander Zverev won the US Open on Sunday, beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in New York for his second Grand Slam title of the year after the French Open. The Guardian said he is only the fourth man in the open era, after Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas and Jannik Sinner, to win his first two majors in the same season. He now leads Shelton 6-0 in their meetings.

The defeat kept American men without a Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open. Shelton, 23 and in his first major final, was also trying to become the first Black American man to win the title since Arthur Ashe in 1968. Al Jazeera noted that Zverev did not realise at first that he had won, and quoted his tribute to his mother, who backed him after he was diagnosed with diabetes at four.

“I think God has seen how hard we have worked and suffered.” — Alexander Zverev, via Al Jazeera

Malay Mail recalled that Zverev lost the 2020 final to Dominic Thiem after holding two match points, and that Shelton had knocked out defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the quarter-finals. With Sinner out with a knee injury, it said, Zverev has a chance at No 1. The Guardian added that he won the title without facing Sinner or Alcaraz.

How each outlet framed it

• Al Jazeera — an emotional champion and a disappointed home crowd.
• The Guardian — the record, the one-sided rivalry and America's 23-year wait.
• Malay Mail — redemption after 2020, and the race for No 1.

What we don't know yet: whether Zverev can pass Sinner in the rankings while the Italian is injured.