Match point came and went, and Alexander Zverev kept working. He tapped balls back to the ball kids. He got ready to return serve. He seemed to believe he’d merely gone up 5-1 in the fourth set against Ben Shelton. In fact, he’d just won the U.S. Open in front of 23,000 people, and they couldn’t figure out why the new champion wasn’t celebrating.
The scoreboard knew first
Zverev never seemed to hear the chair umpire call the match. When he finally caught on, up went both arms. Jason Gay, the Journal’s sports columnist, nailed the look: “He looked like a seventh-grader who heard it was pizza day.” Gay saw it as a happy poke at the idea that champions are flawless machines tracking every detail.
Credit where it’s due. The 29-year-old beat Shelton 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2. That’s his second major of 2026, after the French, and his third straight major final on a different surface. In a season marked by injuries to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, he’s on track to finish ranked No. 1.
Gay isn’t ready to call it a new Big Three. Zverev is 0-10 against Sinner in their last 10 matches, and he admits the gap: “If everyone’s healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead.” Shelton, 23, made his own leap, reaching his first major final after a quarterfinal win over Alcaraz that ended at 3:33 a.m.
Noticing you’ve already won
The tournament fielded a few complaints of its own, over late-night finishes and a luxury push. A plain USTA hoodie runs $140, a lobster BLT cost $42, and Arthur Ashe Stadium is in the middle of an $800 million renovation. In a rare act of mercy, the Honey Deuce cocktail stayed at last year’s $23.
Zverev’s delayed celebration is a familiar scene in financial planning. Some savers reach their number — the savings their goals actually require — and keep swinging as if they’re still behind, taking risks they no longer need. The point was never the biggest possible score. It was winning the match you set out to play.
So check the scoreboard now and then. If the plan says you’ve won, protecting the lead may matter more than running up the score.