Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton will square off in the final of the U.S. Open for the 6th time in their career. They are scheduled to play on Sunday at 2:00 pm on Arthur Ahse Stadium. In this post, we analyze their head to head performance and prediction.
Prediction, odds and live streaming
The pick for Tennis Tonic is Alexander Zverev who should win in 5 sets.
As per the initial odds, Alexander Zverev is the pick to win this match.
Alexander Zverev -> 1.67
Ben Shelton -> 2.22
Here where top tennis events are broadcasted or streamed online (ATP, WTA).
At the challenger level, there will be free live streaming on Challenger TV.
Prediction and head to head Alexander Zverev vs. Ben Shelton
This will be the 6th time that Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton fight against each other. The head to head is 5-0 for Zverev (see full H2H stats), 2-0 on hard.
The last time that they squared off, Zverev won 6-3 7-6(6) in the R in Nitto atp finals back in 2025.
Highlights Alexander Zverev vs Ben Shelton – Nitto atp finals 09-November-2025
Alexander Zverev
53 - 13win/loss
2
2
LWWWLWWWWW | Year | Total | Hard | Clay | I.hard | Grass | Carpet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 58-15 | 26-8 | 20-4 | 3-1 | 9-2 | 0-0 |
| 2025 | 57-25 | 24-9 | 18-7 | 9-6 | 6-3 | 0-0 |
| 2024 | 69-21 | 29-10 | 23-6 | 11-3 | 6-2 | 0-0 |
| 2023 | 55-27 | 22-13 | 20-7 | 8-5 | 5-2 | 0-0 |
| 2022 | 29-10 | 9-4 | 17-5 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Ranked no. 2 (career-high), Alexander reached the final after defeating Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4, Quentin Halys 6-4 4-6 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 6-3, Alejandro Tabilo 6-2 7-6(2) 6-2, Luciano Darderi 6-2 6-2 7-6(3), Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-2 7-5 6-1 and Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6(7) 7-6.
In the semifinal, Alexander had a good straight sets win against Khachanov (6-3 7-67 7-6). During the match, Zverev scored 107 points vs Khachanov’s 104. The German was exceptionally aggressive to blast 55 winners.
Regarding the service games, Zverev blasted 15 aces and he committed only 6 double faults. Overall, Alexander Zverev was very efficient on serve to win 79% (55/70) of his 1st serve and 56% (23/41) on the second serve. However, this didn’t prevent his to concede the serve once. The German broke Khachanov twice after converting 67% of his break points (2/3).
Overall Performance in this tournament
Alexander has surrendered 4 set in this event to conquer 53% of the points he played.
ATP U.S. Open - Alexander Zverev's projected path
Zverev has a solid record in the last 10 years having won 73% of his matches (510-188). 23-7 on hard in 2026. Talking about his performance on the same surface of this tournament, Zverev has an aggregate 214-82 record in the last years on hard.
His best result of the season was winning the title at the French Open where he beat Flavio Cobolli in the final 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1.
Zverev has a composed 52-13 win-loss record in 2026, 23-7 on hard (See FULL STATS).
Previously at the U.S. Open
Previously, his best result was reaching the final in 2020. See his history.
Ben Shelton
39 - 14win/loss
4
4
LLLWWWWWWL | Year | Total | Hard | Clay | I.hard | Grass | Carpet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 39-16 | 20-7 | 8-5 | 5-2 | 6-2 | 0-0 |
| 2025 | 40-24 | 23-9 | 7-5 | 4-6 | 6-4 | 0-0 |
| 2024 | 42-26 | 22-13 | 8-4 | 8-5 | 4-4 | 0-0 |
| 2023 | 28-26 | 21-13 | 4-8 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| 2022 | 40-11 | 16-9 | 0-0 | 24-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Ranked no. 9, the American reached the final after defeating Tallon Griekspoor 1-6 6-1 7-6(3) 6-2, Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5, Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4, Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 6-3 6-4, Carlos Alcaraz 6-7(5) 6-1 6-3 1-6 7-6 and Frances Tiafoe 4-6 6-3 6-3 7-5.
In the semifinal against Tiafoe, Shelton recovered from a 1-set down deficit before winning (4-6 6-3 6-3 7-5). During the match Shelton scored 128 points vs Tiafoe’s 107. The American was pretty aggressive to blast 66 winners.
Talking about serving, Shelton overwhelmed his opponent with 20 aces and he committed only 3 double faults. Overall, Ben Shelton was extremely efficient on serve to win 77% (66/86) of his 1st serve and 54% (15/28) on the second serve. However, this didn’t prevent his to concede the serve twice. Ben broke Tiafoe 5 times after converting 45% of his break points (5/11).
Overall Performance in this tournament
The American has conceded 6 set in the tournament to win 53% of the points he played.
ATP U.S. Open - Ben Shelton's projected path
His best result of the year was winning the title in Dallas where he beat Taylor Fritz in the final 3-6 6-3 7-5 and in Munich where he overcame Flavio Cobolli in the final 6-2 7-5 and in Stuttgart where he defeated Taylor Fritz in the final 6-4 2-6 6-4 and in Montreal where he beat Brandon Nakashima in the final 6-3 7-6(4).
The American has an aggregate 39-13 win-loss record in 2026, 20-6 on hard (See FULL STATS).
Previously at the U.S. Open
Previously, his best result was reaching the semifinal in 2023. See his history.
H2H Performance in the tournament (main draw)
Matches, sets, games and points
| Points | Zverev | Shelton |
|---|---|---|
| Match played | 6 | 6 |
| Tot Set | 22 | 24 |
| Tot Games | 229 | 242 |
| Pts | 773-674 | 779-681 |
| Total Points | 1447 | 1460 |
| Winners | 360 | 386 |
| %Winners | 47% | 50% |
Both Zverev and Shelton played 6 matches. Both players lost a set in the event. Alexander Zverev dropped 4 sets, while Ben Shelton lost 6 sets. Zverev has played 2 set(s) less than Shelton (22 vs 24). Therefore, Zverev played 13 games less than Shelton. Zverev scored 360 winners (47% of the total points). On the other side, Ben managed to score 386 winners (50%).
Serve Performance
| Serve | Zverev | Shelton |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 87 | 71 |
| Avg per match | 14.5 | 11.8 |
| 1st in | 457/678 | 509/725 |
| %1st in | 67% | 70% |
| 1st pts | 360/457 | 386/509 |
| %1st pts | 79% | 76% |
| 2nd pts | 116/221 | 119/216 |
| %2nd pts | 52% | 55% |
Zverev struck 87 aces (14.5 per match). Shelton managed to score 71 aces (11.8 per match). Zverev won 79% points on his first serve. He had a solid display on his second serve to win 52% of the points. On the other side, Shelton won 76% of the points behind his first serve. He had a solid display on his second serve to win 55% of the points.
How they played the important points
| Breaks | Zverev | Shelton |
|---|---|---|
| Won | 28 | 28 |
| Converted | 28/84 | 28/62 |
| % Converted | 33% | 45% |
| Conceded | 25 | 41 |
| Saved | 16 | 27 |
| % Saved | 64% | 66% |
| Times Broken | 9 | 14 |
Alexander broke his opponents 28 times with a 33% conversion rate. The German surrendered his serve 9 times and he saved 64% of the break points that he conceded. Ben broke his opponents 28 times with a 45% conversion rate. Ben conceded his serve 14 times and he saved 66% of the break points that he conceded.
| Zverev | ||||||||
| R1 Sonego |
R2 Halys |
R3 Tabilo |
R4 Darderi |
1/4 Van De Zandschulp |
1/2 Khachanov |
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 6-4 3-6 6-77 7-5 6-4 | 6-4 4-6 7-63 6-73 6-3 | 6-2 7-62 6-2 | 6-2 6-2 7-63 | 6-2 7-5 6-1 | 6-3 7-67 7-6 | ||
| Tot Set | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 22 | |
| Tot Games | 54 | 55 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 35 | 229 | |
| pts | 175-169 | 183-172 | 106-80 | 108-78 | 94-71 | 107-104 | 773-674 | |
| Total points | 344 | 355 | 186 | 186 | 165 | 211 | 1447 | |
| Winners | 79 | 82 | 46 | 51 | 47 | 55 | 360 | |
| %Winners | 45% | 45% | 43% | 47% | 50% | 51% | 47% | |
| SERVE | ||||||||
| Aces | 12 | 29 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 87 | |
| Double Faults | 8 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 36 | |
| 1st in | 102/155 | 103/157 | 62/87 | 59/82 | 61/86 | 70/111 | 457/678 | |
| % 1st in | 66% | 66% | 71% | 72% | 71% | 63% | 67% | |
| 1st pts | 79/102 | 82/103 | 46/62 | 51/59 | 47/61 | 55/70 | 360/457 | |
| % 1st pts | 77% | 80% | 74% | 86% | 77% | 79% | 79% | |
| 2nd pts | 29/53 | 26/54 | 14/25 | 13/23 | 11/25 | 23/41 | 116/221 | |
| % 2nd pts | 55% | 48% | 56% | 57% | 44% | 56% | 52% | |
| Breaks | ||||||||
| Won | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
| Converted | 5/22 | 5/20 | 6/13 | 4/17 | 6/9 | 2/3 | 28/84 | |
| Converted % | 23% | 25% | 46% | 24% | 67% | 67% | 33% | |
| Conceded | 5 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 25 | |
| Saved | 2/5 | 4/7 | 6/8 | 1/1 | 2/2 | 1/2 | 16 | |
| Saved % | 40% | 57% | 75% | 100% | 100% | 50% | 70% | |
| Times Broken | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| Shelton | ||||||||
| R1 Griekspoor |
R2 Hurkacz |
R3 Shapovalov |
R4 Tsitsipas |
1/4 Alcaraz |
1/2 Tiafoe |
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 1-6 6-1 7-63 6-2 | 6-3 5-7 7-63 7-5 | 7-63 6-75 6-3 6-4 | 6-2 6-3 6-4 | 6-75 6-1 6-3 1-6 7-6 | 4-6 6-3 6-3 7-5 | ||
| Tot Set | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 24 | |
| Tot Games | 35 | 46 | 45 | 27 | 49 | 40 | 242 | |
| pts | 112-91 | 144-133 | 142-128 | 84-58 | 169-164 | 128-107 | 779-681 | |
| Total points | 203 | 277 | 270 | 142 | 333 | 235 | 1460 | |
| Winners | 59 | 73 | 72 | 43 | 73 | 66 | 386 | |
| %Winners | 53% | 51% | 51% | 51% | 43% | 52% | 50% | |
| SERVE | ||||||||
| Aces | 12 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 20 | 71 | |
| Double Faults | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 22 | |
| 1st in | 69/104 | 100/138 | 98/140 | 51/71 | 105/158 | 86/114 | 509/725 | |
| % 1st in | 66% | 72% | 70% | 72% | 66% | 75% | 70% | |
| 1st pts | 59/69 | 73/100 | 72/98 | 43/51 | 73/105 | 66/86 | 386/509 | |
| % 1st pts | 86% | 73% | 73% | 84% | 70% | 77% | 76% | |
| 2nd pts | 13/35 | 25/38 | 22/42 | 14/20 | 30/53 | 15/28 | 119/216 | |
| % 2nd pts | 37% | 66% | 52% | 70% | 57% | 54% | 55% | |
| Breaks | ||||||||
| Won | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 28 | |
| Converted | 5/7 | 3/11 | 6/11 | 4/6 | 5/16 | 5/11 | 28/62 | |
| Converted % | 71% | 27% | 55% | 67% | 31% | 45% | 45% | |
| Conceded | 8 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 41 | |
| Saved | 5/8 | 5/7 | 4/8 | 0/0 | 8/11 | 5/7 | 27 | |
| Saved % | 63% | 71% | 50% | – | 73% | 71% | 55% | |
| Times Broken | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | |
Head 2 Head
WWWWWWWWWW
WWWWWWWWWW Tennis Scores – U.S. Open
- Christian Harrison/Neal SkupskiHarrison/Neal Skupski – Kevin Krawietz/Tim PuetzKrawietz/Tim Puetz (6-4 7-66) – Stats, scores, rankings
Upcoming matches in the draw
- Alexander ZverevZverev – (5-0) – H2H and prediction
