shelton

NEW YORK: Alexander Zverev won his second major championship and kept American men without a Grand Slam title since 2003, beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday in the US Open final.

Zverev finally broke through in the majors by winning this year’s French Open and followed up by finally adding the title in New York that he so painfully let slip away in 2020.

The No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam for the first time, he capitalized on Shelton’s shaky start in his first major final, played a nearly flawless tiebreaker on serve and then turned back Shelton’s comeback attempt in front of a crowd that desperately cheered him on.

Shelton was trying to win the first title by an American man since Andy Roddick won in Flushing Meadows in 2003, as well as the first by a Black man since Arthur Ashe in 1968.

But Zverev was too good in majors this year and apparently didn’t even know how good he was. He finished the match on his serve but didn’t seem to realize it, dropping back behind the baseline as if set to return. Only a few moments later did he figure out he had won, raising his arms in celebration.

Alexander Zverev used his greater experience to beat home hope Ben Shelton in the US Open final and quiet a partisan crowd hoping to laud a rare American men’s champion.

German top seed Zverev lifted a heavy burden by winning his first major title at this year’s French Open and has quickly added another with a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-2 victory over Shelton in New York.

At the start of the season, there were question marks over whether 29-year-old Zverev would ever win one of the sport’s biggest prizes.

Now he is celebrating becoming a multiple Grand Slam singles champion, having seen the path to glory partially cleared by injuries to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner and Alcaraz swept the board between them at the majors in 2024 and 2025 – and Zverev has taken full advantage against the rest of the field in their absences.

Big-hitting Shelton has long been identified as a player who can win the most prestigious titles, but ultimately came up short in his first Grand Slam final against a rejuvenated Zverev.

Eighth seed Shelton was aiming to become the first American man to win a major title since Andy Roddick in 2003, but losing serve in the first game of the match set the tone as Zverev controlled the opening two sets.

The momentum shifted in the third set, however, as Shelton finally started applying serious pressure on Zverev’s serve.

Taking his third break opportunity provided encouragement to the 24,000 home fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium, but Zverev quickly reasserted his authority early in the fourth to extinguish American dreams.

Zverev did not initially know he had secured victory when Shelton hit a return long on championship point, only breaking out into a broad and slightly surprised smile after his team pointed out the score to him.

Follow our live build-up, predictions, score, match photos and text commentary stream of the men’s final in New York.

NEW YORK: Big-serving Ben Shelton overpowered US compatriot Frances Tiafoe in four sets on Friday to reach the first Grand Slam final of his career, booking a US Open title showdown with Alexander Zverev.

Eighth-seeded Shelton blasted 20 aces on his way to a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Top seed Zverev held off 50th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6) to reach his third straight Grand Slam final – a run that delivered his maiden major at the French Open and saw him finish runner-up at Wimbledon.

Shelton – who took down defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals – will now have the chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title since 2003, when Andy Roddick triumphed at the US Open.

“It’s a lot of emotion,” Shelton said in an on-court interview. “My dad, my mom have sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position today. My dad lost his mom earlier this year, and she’s the reason that he was able to play tennis.

“Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her. And I’m gonna need you guys on Sunday to bring the energy. I’m going for it. I’m gonna leave it all on the court.”

Zverev is eager for the chance to play spoiler.

“Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday,” the German said.

The pulsating all-American semi-final played out in front of a star-studded crowd, with tennis legends including Serena Williams, Stan Smith and Lindsey Davenport on hand along with actors Ben Stiller and Rami Malek and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

Tiafoe claimed the first set after Shelton uncharacteristically double-faulted to trail at 5-4.

They traded breaks early in the second, but Shelton took advantage of Tiafoe’s increasingly erratic serve to break for a 5-3 lead and level the match.

The momentum was all with Shelton, who broke for a 3-2 lead then seized the set with a break in a marathon ninth game that went to deuce seven times.

The tension was mounting in the fourth set, but Shelton kept his composure as Tiafoe raised his level and gained the crucial break in the final game.

On Sunday he’ll be up against an experienced opponent in Zverev, who after laboring through two five-setters to open the tournament has steadily upped his game.

‘Anything but straightforward’

Zverev doused Khachanov’s hopes of reaching a first Grand Slam final, although the Russian – who fell to Zverev in the Olympic gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021 – put up a spirited challenge in the second and third sets.

“Straight-set win, but anything but straightforward,” Zverev said. “He played incredibly well, fought incredibly well.”

Khachanov denied Zverev on two set points in the second set tiebreaker with a thumping forehand and a brilliant backhand down the line before Zverev closed out the set.

Neither player mustered a break point in a tense third set. But when Khachanov took a 6-4 lead in the tiebreaker he surrendered both set points with forehand errors. Zverev came up with his 15th ace and sealed the win when Khachanov sent a forehand long.

“Second and third set I think it’s more than obvious that they could have gone both ways,” Zverev said. “I just played a few points better here and there.”

A somber note was struck during the national anthem ceremonies of both the day and night sessions on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

“It’s a difficult day to be out here playing,” Shelton said in his remarks to the crowd. “My thought and payers go out to all the families affected by 9/11.”

The women’s final is on Saturday, when Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina will try to deny Aryna Sabalenka a third straight title just days after ending the Belarusian’s near two-year reign atop the world rankings by reaching the semi-finals.

In the evening session, with a star-studded crowd watching on, it was over to Shelton and Tiafoe to provide the entertainment – and they did not disappoint.

The pair combined for 74 winners, with 47 coming from the racquet of Shelton, who also sent down 20 aces as he backed up a stunning quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz with another memorable showing.

He won 77% points behind his first serve, while successfully targeting the second serve of Tiafoe, winning 62% of points when he opponent failed to land a first serve.

Shelton signalled his intent with an ace hammered down the T to start the match as the pair went at each other from the outset.

While an early break-point chance passed Tiafoe by, the 11th seed continued to threaten the Shelton serve and, aided by a double fault, broke for 5-4 before serving out the set.

Shelton wasted no time in mounting his comeback in the second, though, as he lasered a forehand down the line to break to love for a 2-0 lead.

Although Tiafoe broke back immediately, Shelton remained in the ascendancy and the pressure told as he broke to lead 5-3 before seeing out the set.

The third set included a number of scintillating rallies, Tiafoe coming out on top after 31 shots back and forth to stave off a break point – only for his opponent to hit a winner at the end of a 28-shot rally to break a couple of games later.

Shelton broke again at the end of a gruelling 15-minute game to take a two-sets-to-one lead.

The chance to regroup and take a breather between sets resulted in a refreshed Tiafoe mounting an early attack in the fourth, but he failed to convert two break points in the opening game, Shelton got his chance at 6-5 and brought up three match points.

Shelton netted on the first of them, but that was the last shot he played as a Tiafoe double fault gave a thrilling contest a rather tame end.

Ben Shelton messed up.

Sure, the U.S. tennis star advanced to his second U.S. Open semifinal in epic fashion, knocking off defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set marathon that did not end until 3:33 a.m. ET Wednesday.

It was during his on-court interview afterward, however, that Shelton committed a bit of a faux pas while discussing the match that ended later than any other in tournament history.

“I’m just hoping that my best friend and my sister over there don’t have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours,” Shelton said following the 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) victory. “It’d be huge from their employers to let them have the day off today.”

Shelton certainly didn’t have to give a shout out to two of his loved ones for hanging in there for the entire 4 hours 28 minutes … but since he did, there’s one other person Shelton probably should have mentioned as well: soccer star Trinity Rodman, who also was sitting courtside throughout the match. TV cameras showed her laughing and apparently saying, “What about me?”

Shelton and Rodman have been dating for more than a year, after going Instagram official in May 2025. They are seen in the stands at each other’s sporting events when their schedules allow.

For the record, Rodman apparently did have to work hours later. The U.S. national team and Washington Spirit player posted a video later Wednesday morning on TikTok that showed her inside a gym with the caption, “Yes, I’m at training now.”

She doesn’t seem to hold a grudge over her boyfriend’s omission, though. Rodman posted a video on her Instagram Story of the match’s aftermath, with the caption, “The moment belongs to Shelton!”

And Shelton actually did include Rodman in that moment, with the two of them making eye contact and flashing his signature “dialed-in” hand motion to each other as he celebrated.

Rodman’s schedule with the Spirit hasn’t allowed her to attend all of Shelton’s matches at Flushing Meadows, but she has been to at least three. For his Round 2 victory against Hubert Hurkacz, Rodman wore a black crop top that read, “I ❤️ my boyfriend.”

For the quarterfinal, Rodman carried a Shelton figurine, possibly as a good luck charm.

Shelton will face fellow U.S. player Frances Tiafoe in Friday’s semifinals.

NEW YORK: Carlos Alcaraz tumbled out of the US Open quarter-finals at 3:34 am Wednesday, falling to Ben Shelton in an epic five-set thriller that broke the record for latest finish ever at Flushing Meadows.

The big-hitting Shelton claimed his first career win over Alcaraz, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10/7), ending the Spaniard’s hopes of retaining his title in his first tournament back after a four-month injury absence.

Walking through downtown Santa Barbara, it’s impossible to not turn your head when you see it: those marshmallow-like plaster walls, wiggly wrought ironwork and tile that looks as though it belongs in a palace you’d stumble upon in a storybook.

This is the effect architect Jeff Shelton’s signature design has on viewers: the ability to pluck you out of the monotony of the day, if only briefly.

When asked why he thinks this is so, Shelton is quick to point to the tried-and-true architectural methods of the past, which he proudly uses. Buildings, he said, had to be designed “to act more independently” in serving the needs of their specific inhabitants. A window’s primary purpose, for example, was to allow the ideal amount of light to enter.

“So therefore they had taller windows,” he said, sitting opposite me in his Fig Avenue office in downtown Santa Barbara, surrounded by endless sketches and pattern mock-ups.

Shelton obsesses over other design details that are often overlooked in modern architecture yet instinctively felt when you encounter them: high ceilings, for one (his are 14 to 18 feet from the ground floor), as well as smaller touches like ironwork, stonework and glass. Crucially, all are made by people, designed by people — “nothing,” he said, “out of the catalog.”

Before going solo, Shelton spent a decade working in downtown Los Angeles with architect Brenda Levin on projects including the Bradbury Building and Grand Central Market. He then returned to his hometown of Santa Barbara, where he has designed 90 buildings since 1994, many of them within Santa Barbara’s Historic Landmarks District, commonly referred to as El Pueblo Viejo.

Following Santa Barbara’s 1925 earthquake, which destroyed much of downtown, new construction in the area was required to adopt the Spanish Revival style, which, according to the city’s website, “is key to the identity and beauty of Santa Barbara.” New buildings in the district must draw inspiration from Andalusia and Southern Spain and incorporate elements such as tile, terra-cotta, plaster and ironwork.

For Shelton, the guidelines are merely a reference. When designing, he doesn’t “try to make it like Spain at all,” he said, rather matter-of-factly. “I try to just use the materials and proportions and the craft of what’s so great about being in Spain.”

That approach shines through in his many projects near his Fig Street office, a 10-block radius Shelton has dubbed the “Fig District,” where 10 of his most lauded projects lie, inadvertently creating a kind of architectural museum in the heart of downtown.

Seeing them requires little more than a two-hour self-guided tour, carving your own path or following the map on Shelton’s website. By the end of the excursion, you, too, may ask yourself the same question I did: Why did we ever stop building this way?

Shelton didn’t have an answer. He could only promise to never stop.

“Every building I do is my last building,” said Shelton, now 68. “If I die tomorrow, at least I put everything in this last building.”

Without further ado, here are designs by Shelton all located in the Fig District, including iron gates designed by his brother, David.