At the start of the season, the odds on Zverev winning two Grand Slam titles would have been long. They are considerably shorter now.
The French Open champion is a slight favourite to beat Shelton as he looks to double his tally of major wins – not only for the year, but his career.
After three defeats in major finals, many thought the 29-year-old had missed his chance to win one of the sport’s biggest prizes given how Sinner and Alcaraz – who swept the Grand Slams in 2024 and 2025 and together earned the ‘Sincaraz’ tag – have dominated.
But injuries to the standout pair – Alcaraz missing the French Open and Wimbledon, with Sinner ruled out of the US Open – have opened the door for someone else to make a push.
Asked if he thought he could end 2026 with more major wins than them, Zverev said: “I believed in it. I believed that it’s possible. I think not many of you guys did.
“I think the question was always: Is Carlos and Jannik going to play all four Grand Slam finals between each other again?
“Of course, it was a very legit question with how the last two years went. I’m happy with how this year went so far, but I’ve got another big match on Sunday.”
Zverev is contesting his second US Open final, having squandered a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem in 2020 – a gutting defeat that cut deep.
In the seasons that followed, Zverev often played in the latter stages at Slams with the demeanour of a man who lacked belief that his time would ever come.
His mental misgivings were finally put to bed by beating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the final at Roland Garros and, after finishing runner-up to Sinner at Wimbledon, he has now reached a third successive Grand Slam final.
A below-par Zverev ground through the opening rounds at Flushing Meadows in a series of early-morning finishes, but he gradually improved over a fortnight where he has not yet faced a top-20 opponent.
Shelton will present a considerable step up in quality but, like Cobolli, is another opponent who may feel the weight of occasion too difficult to bear.
