‘I just thought it was 5-1’: Alexander Zverev reveals how he missed out on US Open victory, then calls himself the best player ‘right now’

Alexander Zverev poses for a photo with a ball boys and girls. (AP photo) Alexander Zverev waited six years to erase the pain of his first US Open final. When the moment finally came, the German didn’t even realize he had won it.Zverev defeated American Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday to claim his first US Open title of the year and second Grand Slam title after his first major triumph at Roland Garros in June. But after sealing the championship point, the world number two stayed behind the baseline and prepared for the next serve.All it took for Zverev was his team’s reaction — and a look around the stadium — to realize he was now the US Open champion.

“I didn’t hear her say, Game, set, match.

Zverev said he was so wrapped up in the match that he completely missed the presiding umpire announcing the end of the match.“I was very much in the zone at that point. I didn’t hear the noise at all,” Zverev said at the post-match press conference. “I was in that tunnel where I just couldn’t hear anything. Plus, when the crowd is loud, it’s impossible to hear the umpire, so I didn’t hear her say, ‘Game, set, match’. At the end of the day, I just forgot the score. I just thought it was 5-1 instead of 6-2.”The victory was particularly significant for Zverev, who lost the 2020 US Open final to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets and coming within two points of the title.The German believes those scars have now finally disappeared.“I think the scars from the 2020 final disappeared after I won in Paris,” Zverev said. “I said that at Wimbledon. Even though I lost the final, I enjoyed the match. I enjoyed being in a Grand Slam final, I enjoyed playing on center court and I enjoyed playing in front of an amazing crowd, in front of some celebrities and so on. I enjoyed it.”“Whereas before winning in Paris I felt a lot of stress the whole time because there was always a question mark: ‘Will I ever win?’ Now I think it’s more fun to play such finals.”

Zverev’s verdict over Shelton

Shelton was playing in his first Grand Slam final, but Zverev was impressed by how much the 23-year-old has developed.“I think he’s very talented, but he’s also very close to hard work,” Zverev said. “You see him and his dad all the time after games, before games, working on different things and he’s always improving every year.”“I just played him today. I think it was the best backhand he’s ever hit against me, the most consistent power. It was all there.”Recalling their first meetings, Zverev said Shelton added a new level of consistency to his game.“I remember a couple of years ago, when I first played him, he was always dangerous, he always had that serve and he always had that forehand. But if you played three, four balls back, you’d make a mistake, and that’s absolutely not the case today.”

Ben Shelton, left, and Alexander Zverev pose for a photo together with their trophies. (AP photo)

‘Right, right now, probably yes’

Zverev’s second major of the season also put him in a unique position in 2026. He is the only player to have won multiple Grand Slam titles this year, while Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have won one each.Asked whether he now considers himself the best player in the world, Zverev was reluctant to make an absolute claim – but admitted he may have the strongest case at this particular moment.“I don’t know how to answer that,” he said. “You have to take everything into account. With Jannik Sinner injured, Carlos Alcaraz coming back from injury after four months, right now, at this moment, probably yes.”“Both healthy, both at the top of their game? Maybe not. But to be fair, right now with Jannik injured and Carlos coming back from injury, maybe.”Sinner missed the US Open due to injury, while Alcaraz returned to Grand Slam events in New York after a four-month injury layoff.However, Zverev was quick to acknowledge that the hierarchy could look very different when all three are fully fit.“Four or five months ago, when they were both healthy, I wasn’t (the best player in the world),” he said. “I lost to Jannik the whole time. If everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that,” he added.Zverev is 0-5 against Sinner this year, having won just one set against the world No. 1 — a tiebreak in the Wimbledon final.