Six years after his heartbreaking US Open final collapse, Alexander Zverev finally got his New York redemption. The German defeated Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 to lift his first US Open trophy, closing out a night that carried far more emotion than any other title he won.
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As Zverev celebrated on Arthur Ashe Stadium, his father, Alexander Zverev Sr., could barely hold back the tears. But during his trophy presentation, the champion highlighted the importance of one person who helped him believe that diabetes would never decide how far he could go.
“If he wants to be a tennis player, he’ll be a tennis player,” said Zverev during his on-court interview. “If he wants to do something else, he’ll do something else. But this illness will not define us.” My mother is the most important and strongest person I know. It takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did.”
Zverev was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at just four years old, and doctors told his family that his life and sporting future could be severely limited. For his mother, though, that was never going to be the final word.
“When your 4-year-old son gets diagnosed with diabetes, and doctors in the office tell you that life and sports will be very very limited for that child, it takes a very very strong mother to walk out of those offices and say ‘My son will be wherever he wants to be,” added Zverev.
Irina has previously recalled just how demanding those early years were during her interview with Minimed. She and Zverev Sr. had to wake their son three times every night to check his condition and give him his injections. It was a shock for the family, but they gradually learned how to manage it.
Now, those words became the emotional anchor for Zverev, who is standing with the US Open trophy in his hands. The German had already won Roland Garros earlier this season, and now he had added another major in New York.
After dropping the opening two sets, Shelton found another level in the third, winning 90% of his first-serve points and 71% of his second-serve points. He took the set 7-5, and suddenly the crowd was fully behind Shelton as the American looked ready to push Zverev into a deciding set.
Zverev, though, broke early in the fourth, and grabbed another break at 5-2 and then served out the match 6-2. This time, there was no repeat of what happened in 2020, when he also had a two-set lead over Dominic Thiem before eventually losing the US Open final in a fifth-set tiebreak.
The victory also puts him in German tennis history. By winning Roland Garros and the US Open in the same year, Zverev became only the second German man after Boris Becker to win two Grand Slam singles titles in one season.
Yet when the celebrations came, Zverev’s mind went back home. His father was right there in tears as his son finally conquered New York and saw his son honoring his mother, who gave him the message he carried all these years.