Alexander Zverev vs Ben Shelton | US Open Final 2026 | Preview & Prediction

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

There is so much NFL on ESPN right now.

Monday Night Football, plus pregame and postgame. NFL Live, NFL Primetime. Everything you need to stay on top of every game, every week.

John Silk (0:14)

Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_1 (0:16)

And now, NFL Network is on the ESPN app. More football, more coverage, more ways to watch.

Football's on, all season long, on ESPN and streaming on the ESPN app.

SPEAKER_3 (0:31)

Hey, Spotify listeners, when you travel with American Airlines, you'll enjoy comfort and convenience at every altitude. Before takeoff, unwind in the Admiral's Club Lounge with curated self-serve offerings of hearty bites and refreshments. In flight, stay connected with high-speed Wi-Fi, sponsored by AT&T. Your journey is designed to feel easy from the moment you check in to the moment you arrive. No matter where you're going, American gets you there. Book now at aa.com.

SPEAKER_4 (0:57)

This episode is brought to you by Tic Tac. Lace up and get your game on because the Tic Tac line up just got a new teammate. Dr. Pepper Tic Tac. This new double threat puts two of your favorite flavors into one box of mints. And when two iconic flavors come together, the result can only be iconic.

Score big. Try Dr. Pepper Tic Tac today.

John Silk (1:22)

Back again for another, well probably the final preview of this year's US. Open because the men's final has been set. It is going to be Ben Shelton against Alexander Zverev. Zverev coming through in straight sets yesterday over Karen Hatchinoff. Ben Shelton going a set down to Francis Tiafoe, but ultimately easing away from his fellow American in four sets. As you can see, the head-to-head on the screen is 5-0 in Zverev's favor.

How important will that head-to-head be, do you think, Breno?

Breno (2:02)

Not as much in a major final, I think, to all of these matches. One of them actually may be being the Munich final.

No.

John Silk (2:15)

Okay, yeah.

Breno (2:17)

Maybe.

John Silk (2:17)

Munich final of 2020

Breno (2:19)

Not too important. Yes, it might linger in the Shelton minors, Zverev mine for a bit, but I don't think Ben's worried about the past at the moment. And I think you can definitely take some things away from the previous matches. I did look into them quickly, and just going through the first few.

Last year's ATP finals, Shelton was nowhere near healthy, and he's kind of just showing up because, well, frankly, you get a lot of money, and why not play some tennis? And then the Cincinnati Masters, Shelton out of gas after his run in Toronto, it was, in 2025 And then, let's see, Stukart, that's maybe more applicable in a semifinal setting, and yes, that's right, the Munich final was important. So all these matches, a lot of them coming last year. So yeah, as I think, it's been a year, essentially, since their last meeting, and I think a lot has changed, especially if you're Ben Shelton. I think just the game, the maturity, decision-making, and honestly, like, athleticism as a whole, I think it's all gotten much better. And for Zverev, yeah, some things have gotten better, but you know, it's still the same, Zverev.

John Silk (3:43)

You asked me a couple of days ago about Ben's evolution as a tennis player, and there's no doubt there have been some improvements. I touched upon one or two of those as well, but I also remember you highlighting his athleticism. Well, actually, this is something I think he's had kind of always, at least from my point of view. I remember seeing him up real close in Mallorca practice in 2024 I also saw him up close the same year in the, what's that more Toglu gimmick thing called? What's it called? UTS. UTS, yeah. But doesn't matter whether you like UTS or not, the practice is practice. And I was just thinking this guy is off the charts. Now, a lot of tennis players, when you get really up close to them for the first time, whether it's a challenger level here in Seville or Grand Slam level, they do impress you big style with how hard they can hit the ball and how quick they can move from side to side and front to back. But Ben just seemed to have another gear that many other players, in my experience, don't have and didn't have.

He's now probably added that to that, a bit more maturity, decision making, et cetera, for sure.

Regarding this head to head, interestingly, their absolute barnstormer, super close match was the first encounter they had in Cincinnati. But you're right, the other four, I can sort of explain, and I can explain it away from the talents of the two players. That one in the ATP finals last year was pretty one-sided. I know one of the sets went to a tiebreak, but it always felt like Zverev was going to win. As you highlighted, Shelton was coming back from his injury that he picked up at the US Open and was really struggling and scratching for form at that point. Good news for him is that the rest of the season, therefore, he's got plenty of points to potentially make up. The Cincinnati one, post-Canada, winning that title in Canada, we sit on the men's and the women's side. Players often skip Cincinnati if they were in Canada, but obviously he was there this year and last year as Canada champion and went out relatively early on both occasions.