Ben Shelton made a huge breakthrough when he beat Frances Tiafoe to reach his first Grand Slam final, but he faces a daunting task against an opponent who has beaten him relatively comfortably five times in a row.
Shelton is now just one match away from ending America’s long wait for a men’s singles champion, with Andy Roddick’s win in the 2003 final the last time a homegrown champion lifted the title at the US Open.
After ending Carlos Alcaraz’s run in the quarter-finals in New York, Shelton removed one of the big hurdles blocking his path to glory and his 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 win against Tiafoe confirmed he can hold his nerve when the pressure is on in what was the biggest match of his career.
Now he faces what appears to be an even bigger test as Shelton’s record against Zverev could not be any worse.
These two big servers appear to have similar weapons on court, but Zverev’s serving power has been too much for Shelton in their previous meetings.
More Tennis News
It’s not just the fact that Zverev has won all of their matches that confirms the German has an advantage over his rival, as the scale of his victories are also eye-catching.
Shelton has won just one of the 11 sets they have contested, with their most recent meeting ending with a 6-2, 7-6(6) win for Zverev.
Zverev hammered Shelton 6-2, 6-2 at last year’s Cincinnati Masters, in a match played in similar conditions to Sunday’s US Open final.
It was a similar outcome in a clay court event in Germany last year as Zverev won 6-2, 6-4 and the same outcome was reached on grass when Zverev won 7-6(8), 7-6(1) in Stuttgart last year.
“Ben is just a big, powerful guy,” said Zverev of his opponent in the final. “Massive serve, massive groundstrokes, everything he does is just big.”
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
The crowd is certain to be cheering for the American in the final, but Zverev is relishing that prospect as he added: “I enjoy these kinds of atmospheres.
“I’ve played a lot of French guys in France. I think the most hostile crowd, if you call it that, is if you’re playing a French player in Paris, Bercy, back in the day. That was quite intense, and I always enjoyed those kinds of atmospheres.
“Of course I’ve played Australian guys in Australia, played Arthur Fery now in Wimbledon. The Wimbledon crowd is a bit different, though; there is no question about that.”
Zverev has been the nearly man of tennis for so long, but he is now one win away from winning two of the four Grand Slams in 2026 and cementing his status as a great of the game.
ZVEREV’S FIVE WINS AGAINST SHELTON
2024 Cincinnati QF – 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5
2025 Munich F – 6-2, 6-4
2025 Stuttgart SF – 7-6(8), 7-6(1)
2025 Cincinnati QF – 6-2, 6-2
2025 ATP Finals RR – 6-3, 7-6(6)
READ NEXT: Alexander Zverev makes candid ‘pep talk’ confession after reaching US Open final
