Zverev no longer ‘third guy’ of men’s tennis after winning US Open final to claim second slam title

Alexander Zverev clinched the US Open title in a stunning 2026 Grand Slam campaign, defeating Ben Shelton in the final. This marked his second major title of the year, having entered the 2025 season as a player prone to choking under pressure at the end of matches. In an interview with ESPN, Zverev revealed that he initially thought the final score was 5-1, which likely influenced his decision to hold back and avoid serving double faults.

He admitted, "I thought the score was 5-1, which helped me; I probably would have served, like, three double faults instead of one!"

Reflecting on his heartbreaking 2020 US Open final loss to Dominic Thiem, Zverev drew parallels to this year's victory, attributing his success to a divine intervention: "Yeah, I feel like… I’ve said it before, but I feel like God has seen how much we struggled as a team on the tennis court, and how many heartbreaks we had. So he was like, you know what? This is your year. Just enjoy it. Everything’s gonna happen exactly the way you want it to happen."

Zverev expressed his enjoyment of the victory, stating, "I’m just enjoying myself. I’m enjoying playing tennis. Like, I was very stressed playing the French Open final and winning my first major, but today, I was just enjoying being out there, and it’s a great feeling to have, and, yeah, I’m happy to be a two-time Grand Slam champion."

He also mentioned that the stress he experienced during the French Open final contrasted sharply with his current state of happiness. Zverev admitted that he had yet to fully grasp the significance of being a two-time Grand Slam champion, saying, "No, not yet, yeah. I thought I would still have to play, but, um… No, it hasn’t sunk in yet, but, look, I think I can enjoy this one a lot more than I did in Paris. In Paris, I was just full of stress. I was just full of stress. Now I’m full of happiness."