Zverev, the man who did not know he had won the US Open
The German adds his second Grand Slam in half a year at the US Open and confirms that this is his year
BarcelonaEverything was set for Carlos Alcaraz to be the US Open champion for the third time and to return triumphantly after months of being injured. But the one who has reigned in New York has been Alexander Zverev. The German, for years the player who carried a curse according to which he would never win a major tournament, has shaken off his fears in a 2026 in which he surprised everyone by winning two Grand Slam titles: first in Paris and now at Flushing Meadows, by defeating the American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6, 5-7 and 6-2. The key? Concentration. Focusing on every second, on every point, on every detail. He did it so well that when he won the tournament he didn't know it. He was focused on winning every point and for a few seconds he was ready to play the next one while everyone was already standing up to cheer for him.
2026 was supposed to be the year of the great duel between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the two young men who occupy the space left by Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Five men who have been eclipsing for these years men like Zverev, who seemed condemned to ostracism. But 2026 will end and the one who will have won the most important titles will be the player from Hamburg, currently the world number two. Of the four major tournaments, three have seen Sasha in the final. At Wimbledon, he fell to Sinner, but he won the other two finals. A man who, on his way to 30, seemed like he would never do anything. Until this 2026, in which the injuries of Alcaraz and Sinner played in his favor. The Italian was unable to play in the United States and the player from Murcia was out at Wimbledon and Paris, changing the calendar and, in the process, bothering sponsors and television channels, since right now the great product of world tennis is a Sinner-Alcaraz duel. "Very well, now let Alcaraz and Sinner come back in shape" said former player John McEnroe upon finishing the broadcast of the Flushing Meadows final. Former French player Alizé Cornet was also quite sincere when she told a French channel that she had lost interest in the tournament once Alcaraz had been eliminated by Shelton.
Zverev is not a friendly face. With a reputation for being ill-tempered, until recently he was a protagonist because he would fight with rivals and referees. Accused twice by two ex-partners of gender-based violence, the German is not the type of player that commercial brands like. One can praise his game. Little else. Born in Hamburg, he was destined to shine with a racket, as both his parents were internationals with the Soviet Union. Both left Russia with the fall of the USSR and settled in Germany, where they coached both Alexander and his brother Mischa.
The curse of the 90s
With the title in New York, Zverev becomes the player with the most Grand Slams won born in the 90s, a generation overshadowed by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Only two titles, but of great importance for Zverev. Only the Austrian Dominic Thiem and the Russian Daniil Medvedev, with one title each, both in New York, are the other players from that decade with Grand Slams in their record. Thiem's was precisely against Zverev, who then managed to lead 2-0 in the final before collapsing. Against Shelton, the German did not fail.
"We went thirteen years without winning a Grand Slam and now we have won two in three months. I believe that God has seen everything we have worked for, everything we have suffered, all the pain we have endured, and I believe that 2026 is the result of all the previous years in which we have gone through all of this," said the German after touching the sky in Paris, where in 2020 his heart was broken into a thousand pieces. Now his redemption has arrived.
