The finalists have been set for the men’s singles final of the 2026 United States Open. Alexander Zverev of Germany, the number one seed, will face Ben Shelton of the United States, the number eight seed, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York on Sunday.
Zverev of Hamburg, Germany, defeated Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 in straight sets in the first semifinal on Friday. Zverev had 15 aces compared to six for Khachanov. Zverev won the second set tiebreak 9-7 and the third set tiebreak 8-6. This was the third time in Khachanov’s career he lost a grand slam men’s singles semifinal. He was also beaten by Casper Ruud of Norway, 7-6, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in the semifinals of the 2022 United States Open, and by Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open.
Shelton of Atlanta, Georgia, won an all-American matchup against American Frances Tiafoe in the other semifinal by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. Unlike Zvewrev who was playing an unseeded semifinal opponent, Tiafoe was seeded 11th. Two key statistics were aces and winning percentage on second serve. Shelton had 20 aces and a second serve winning percentage of 60%. Tiafoe had three aces and a second serve winning percentage of 40%.
Zverev is 5-0 all-time against Shelton. His wins came in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati in 2024 (3-6, 7-6, 7-5), the finals of Munich in 2025 (6-2, 6-4), the semifinals of Stuttgart in 2025 (7-6, 7-6), the quarterfinals of Cincinnati in 2025 (6-2, 6-2) and the round robin of the 2025 ATP Finals in Turin, Italy (6-3, 7-6). Zverev is looking for his second grand slam victory in 2026 after winning the French Open.
