Overcoming 6 opponents since the journey began on August 30, Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton are only facing the final obstacle to be able to lift the US Open 2026 championship trophy.
The final of the last Grand Slam tournament in 2026 is quite different from previous years, when both players are still "inexperienced".
This is only the second time Zverev has reached the US Open final (the previous time was 6 years ago and a failure), and for Shelton, it is the first time.
But also because of that, the match is expected in its own way.
Head-to-head statistics are leaning towards Zverev, as he has won all 5 matches.
At the US Open 2026, the German player had an average first serve of 212km/h, but on the other side of the net, Shelton was recognized as the strongest serve in the history of the tournament, with 232km/h.
That is, the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium witnessed a "gunfight" where people were just waiting to see how the other side reacted.
From a certain perspective, Zverev is rated higher, because in his career, he has won 87 matches and only lost 18 against left-handed opponents. In Grand Slam tournaments since 2022, the score is 13-0.
But the weakness of the 28-year-old player is that in 2026, he only won 1 out of 8 matches against players in the Top 10 (7 losses) – a rate of 13%.
Meanwhile, Shelton won 7, lost 2 in the finals he has participated in. And in 2026, he won 12, lost 8 in 1 set matches (3-0 at US Open 2026).
A little pressure for Shelton is that since 2000, he has only been the fourth left-handed person to reach the Grand Slam final, after Goran Ivanisevic, Mariano Puerta and Rafael Nadal.
The US Open 2026 final between Zverev and Shelton takes place at 01:00 on September 14 (Vietnam time).
