When Ben Shelton takes the court in the 2016 US Open final on Sunday, with everyone behind him at Arthur Ashe Stadium, it will be the USA’s best chance at ending a 23-year Grand Slam drought following Andy Roddick’s retirement.
In his own way will be Alexander Zverev, the tournament’s no. 1 seed and the consensus third-best player in the world. The man is playing in a third straight Grand Slam final, going 24-0 against players Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the majors this year.
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Let’s get into what to expect when the two face off at 2 pm ET on ABC.
How did Shelton and Zverev get here?
SheltonThe American played a much more interesting match for this tournament, especially in the last two matches.
Few Americans could stay for the classic quarterfinal against Alcaraz, but it was a major step for a player whose potential was always visibly evident. Shelton went stroke-for-stroke against the seven-time Grand Slam winner — who, to be fair, is playing his first tournament for more than four months — and came out on top.
They reached the semifinals against friend and countryman Francis Tiafoe. He appeared to have some nerves in the first set, not forcing 14 errors in the first set, but he closed in the first set in the second set and was overwhelmed by Tiafoe for a four-set win.
His path is full;
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Semifinal11 France Tiafoe, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6
Fourth round: Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
Third round: Dionysius Shapovalov, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
In the second round: Hubert Hurkacz, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5.
First round: Tallon Graece Spoor, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2
Zverev: It’s hard to remember an easier road to a Grand Slam final than the ride Zverev took to this Sunday afternoon.
Actually, this is not a bad thing. We can think of such an easy way. It was Zverev’s last trip to Roland-Garros this year, as he faced No. 10th seed Flavius Cobolli won.
As he did in Paris, Zverev has not faced a single player with a seed higher than 20 on the lawns of Flushing for two weeks. Top seed Zverev faces No. 21 Luciano Darderi, a clay expert with a career losing record on hardcourts.
Soft cushion do not begin to describe this opponent’s career, but we all know that Zverev can suffer a loss. Shelton is multiple steps above anything he’s experienced on the Flushing Meadows this year, and it could take some adjustment. It wasn’t even an incident-free trip, with Zverev reaching the fifth round in his previous two matches, a first for the Grand Slam top seed.
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It did not fall out after the statute.
Semifinal: Karen Khachanov, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6
Quarterfinal: Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.
Fourth round: Luciano Darderi, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.
Third round: Alejandro Tabilo, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2
In the second round: Quintini Halys, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
First round: Lawrence Sonego, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4.
It can be said clearly: Shelton has had a better tournament than Zverev so far both in terms of form shown and strength of schedule. Zverev will need to reach a level he hasn’t really had this tournament, and he doesn’t need to walk away from Sunday feeling happy.
What are Shelton and Zverev playing?
Shelton: Let’s see. Win the first career Grand Slam? That would be nice. Will he become the first American man to win a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick’s triumph at the 2003 US Open? Nice guy.
Set yourself in a club group at the top of the game at 23 years old, with all the good things that are done by the best American players with Roddick? bring
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Zverev: News about that title again at Roland-Garros. It is … a definite Grand Slam title. It has a title and everything.
Zverev has been dealing with “the best player to never win a Grand Slam title” for so long, and yet it was anticlimactic when he finally got over the hump. Like in this tournament, every competitor of note to the arm side was out of the tournament after a few rounds. He might be a Grand Slam winner, but he’s still looking for legitimacy, to prove that he’s not Dens.
Getting this Grand Slam could help. Shelton is better than anyone Zverev has played in Paris, but we know that these two players are the real measuring stick for any player hoping to be remembered in the history of tennis.
As the pair went into the past
Zverev first faced Shelton in Cincinnati in 2024 and dropped the first set. He has won 10 straight against the Americans since then.
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If Shelton wants to make history, he’s going to have to overcome his 0-5 career head-to-head record against Zverev. On the football side, Shelton was 0-3 against Alcaraz so far this week.
Their last meeting was last years ATP finals, and it wasn’t very lame. Zverev 6-3, 7-6 won 44-of-54 service points and 16 Shelton 21 second service points.
That’s a big reason why this matchup was awesome for Shelton. He is left with a huge hand and a shake that comes and goes. He is used to overwhelming opponents on balls to the left side, but Zverev brings one of the best backhands in tennis to the table. German lovers enter into cross-exchanges with that ring and slowly turn the tide until a mistake is made or an opportunity presents itself.
Shelton has shown a more developed game lately, especially against Alcaraz and Tiafoe, but this will be a new challenge. He has to work hard in things where he usually goes to the winners.
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When Zverev serves
It was decided that this would be a match.
Zverev is one of the best servers in tennis and has been particularly dominant with his forehands of late. He regularly sits his first serves in the 130 mph range and his second serves around the 120 mph range, once broken in the second round of a tournament.
In his 11 matches, Shelton is 1-for-5 on break points. Total. The return of serve has always been the biggest weakness of Shelton’s game. He has won 14.0% of his revenue games this year around the bottom of the ATP rankings, and now he has won against one of the leaders in the gaming services.
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However, it was the comeback game that helped fuel Shelton’s jump. During this difficult season – which included the 1000 master’s title in Montreal – he held up very well against the great players of Tiafoe, Hubert Hurkacz, Brandon Nakashima and Jakub Menšík.
At least, we should have a good idea of the running game here. Shelton took advantage to step back and drop a right against Tiafoe in the first set. It is necessary to go even further against Zverev.
When Shelton serves
Shelton’s serve is similarly dominant, but Zverev faces a pretty good return.
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For the reasons set out above, Shelton’s future holds a considerable amount of pressure on the rack that he is unlikely to win the match against Zverev in the series.
This is where that concussion comes in so great for Zverev. Shelton is among the best in tennis who has tortured his opponent by returning both aces or forehand winners. Zverev and his big frame are tough to beat, and Shelton’s safest version of the right hand continues to be Zverev’s strong side.
Yes, game game. Try the number of times Zverev rebounds the ball before serving in important moments. We had him at 24 inches at one such point in the second round. He swears he doesn’t hit certain numbers in his head, but Shelton may have reason to invoke the service clock like he did against Tiafoe.
The X factor
It’s vs. do not serve or shake us right. It is the mind of Zverev Arthur Ashe Stadium vs.
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Zverev is not known for keeping his cool under pressure. Few players are smart enough to blame the coach’s chest or blame some form of equipment when things don’t go their way. In the fourth quarter, we see that Zverev is about to take it with the referee after finding the net to spare by missing a change of pace. The judge calmly asked if he had left it in his bag. He had
Imagine a player who is horrified every time he takes his place in tennis, in an amphitheater full of people screaming because of his failure. The second moment against him is what he feels, and he can determine his response if the match is still progressing.