The curse continues for American men.
Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton in the US Open men’s tennis final, 6–3, 7–6, 5–7, 6–2, to win his second Grand Slam title and extend the 23-year drought of American men winning a tennis major.
The last American to win was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
Zverev, 29, will also take home a Grand Slam record $5.5 million in prize money, bringing his career earnings total to $74 million. He moved to No. 4 in the all-time earnings list, jumping Jannik Sinner ($69.5 million), who missed the US Open due to injury.
The German has now won two of the last three Grand Slams, after his breakthrough at the French Open in June. He also reached the Wimbledon final in July, which he lost to Sinner.
Zverev will stay at No. 2 in the world rankings, behind Sinner. Carlos Alcaraz is at No. 3, while Shelton moved up to No. 4 with his runner-up finish, the highest ranking of his career.
The American will bring home $2.8 million with the win, bringing his career total to $17.86 million. He moved from No. 59 to No. 47 in the all-time standings.
The US Open is the final Grand Slam of the calendar year. There are several Masters 1000 tournaments left, starting with the China Open, which starts at the end of this month. The season will finish at the ATP Finals in mid-November. The prize money has yet to be announced for that tournament, but Sinner won more than $5 million last year for his undefeated run.
Zverev is currently No. 1 in the race to make that final tournament, which features the top eight players of the year.
