Ben Shelton’s run on the 2026 US Open was full of highlights, together with his epic 5 set win over Carlos Alcaraz within the quarterfinals.
Nonetheless, within the US Open remaining in opposition to Alexander Zverev, tennis followers are questioning a few resolution he made and if it in the end derailed his probability to win the title.
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Shelton opted to serve first
The American gained the coin toss. He determined to serve first. In a standard match, this is a superb resolution as a result of Shelton’s serve is among the many greatest on the ATP Tour.
September 13, 2026; New York, United States; Ben Shelton of the U.S. serves throughout his males’s singles remaining match in opposition to Germany’s Alexander Zverev. Necessary Credit score: Geoff Burke-Imagn Pictures
Nonetheless, this was a Grand Slam remaining, new territory for Shelton. He would naturally be nervous firstly of the match. A greater strategy to handle nerves may have been to let Zverev serve. Although Zverev is the extra skilled participant, he seemingly handled nerves.
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Shelton was damaged within the first recreation
Zverev broke Shelton within the first recreation which included a Shelton double fault. Shelton was behind from the primary recreation and by no means caught as much as Zverev.
Zverev appeared to calm down and settle in after the service break, and he by no means appeared again.
He did serve a shaky recreation to lose the fourth set, however in any other case, his serve and shotmaking have been stellar all through your complete match.
Exhausting to win a Grand Slam as a primary time finalist
Shelton will study and enhance, as many gamers have accomplished earlier than him, like Zverev.
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When he will get one other probability, he’ll handle the second, nerves, and the coin-toss resolution just a little in a different way due to this expertise.
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