Alexander Zverev: “In That Moment, I Was in the Zone A Lot. I Didn’t Hear Noise at All” — Newly Crowned Champion Replaces 2020 Scars with Serene Dominance at Flushing Meadows
Alexander Zverev was so locked into his mental fortress during Sunday’s 2026 US Open final against Ben Shelton that he didn’t even realize when he had officially won the championship.
After Shelton’s final return sailed long on match point inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, closing out a 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 victory, the 29-year-old German remained behind the baseline, taking his position to receive serve. It was only after looking toward his player’s box and seeing his team celebrating that Zverev realized the contest was over and he was the US Open champion.
“In that moment, I was in the zone a lot. I didn’t hear noise at all,” Zverev revealed in his post-match press conference. “I was in this kind of tunnel where I just didn’t hear anything. Also, when the crowd is loud, it’s impossible to hear the umpire, so I didn’t hear that she said, ‘Game, set, match’. At the end of the day, I just forgot the score. I just thought it was 5-1 instead of 6-2.”
Overcoming Past Ghosts with Pure Joy
The bizarre, hyper-focused moment helped Zverev bypass the late-match anxiety that famously haunted him in the 2020 US Open final, where he stood two points from victory against Dominic Thiem before suffering a grueling five-set defeat.
Having captured his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in June and backed it up with his second major crown in New York, Zverev emphasized that his historical baggage has completely dissolved.
“I think the scars of the 2020 final, they kind of disappeared after I won in Paris,” Zverev admitted. “I said it at Wimbledon. Even though I lost the final, I enjoyed the match. I enjoyed being in the Grand Slam final, I enjoyed playing on Centre Court, I enjoyed playing in front of an amazing crowd, in front of some celebrities and all that. I enjoyed doing that.”
“Whereas before winning in Paris, I felt a lot of stress all the time, because there was always a question mark: ‘Will I ever win one?’ What I think now is just more of a joy to play those kinds of finals.”
Having lost his first three Grand Slam finals, Zverev has now won two of his last three, alongside a runner-up finish at Wimbledon and a semifinal run at the Australian Open in a historic 2026 campaign.
Built on Relentless Work, Not Given Talent
For the World No. 2, his ascension to multi-major champion status hasn’t been a matter of effortless natural gifts, but rather the result of relentless physical and tactical labor.
“I think I’m up there, because I’ve said it before, I don’t think I’m the most talented in any way,” Zverev noted. “I don’t think I’m a God-given talent like some other guys are. I think most of my tennis is through hard work, through a lot of hours spent on the court, and through a lot of hours spent in the gym and on the track. That’s how I play tennis.”
Zverev praised his opponent, 23-year-old Shelton, for embodying that exact same commitment to development.
“I think he’s very talented, but he’s very close to the hard work as well,” Zverev said of the young American. “You see him and his father all the time after matches, before matches, working on different things, and every single year he keeps improving something. I just played him today. I think this was the best backhand he’s ever hit against me, the most consistent power. There was everything there.”
“I remember a couple of years ago when I first played him, he was always dangerous, he always had that serve, and he always had that forehand. But if you played three, four balls back, there would be an error, and that was absolutely not the case today.”
