Bill Simons
Years ago, on the opening night of Arthur Ashe Stadium, after Whitney Houston performed her epic song “One Moment in Time,” African-American tennis player Leslie Allen assumed that Arthur Ashe was looking down from heaven and smiling.
Today I assumed that up there, Ash might be checking out the action again.
After just one afternoon, tennis time seemed to stand still, a moment in time.
In the end, America’s top player, world No. 8, fearless Ben Shelton, ended Carlos Alcaraz’s 13-0 Grand Slam winning streak over the American in 3:33 after Sampras outlasted Agassi in 2001 with his towering strikes.
He then took out his “big brother” and mentor, Francis Tiafoe, in the semi-finals, becoming the first black American to reach the US Open final since Ashe in 1972, and the first black American to reach a Slam final since Maliwai Washington in the 1996 Wimbledon final.
And, as the entire tennis world knew all too well, the 23-year-old Shelton was now poised to end the American men’s miserable 23-year Grand Slam drought.
Still, as we said yesterday, we weren’t telling the Floridian. “Kid, pull a rabbit out of your hat!” Shelton does not wear a hat.
We did not tell him.
His muscles have muscles. Naturally, he does not wear wings.
We were just saying. “No pressure Ben, but the weight of your nation is on your shoulders.” And, please, end our long, painful exile to the tennis periphery. Our drought has been close to our hearts.
After all, we are America – “USA, USA”. And everyone knows that no one closes America for 24 years in a row.
But maybe that was too much to ask.
Shelton is still young. We still see a charming boy in his face. He had already scored two strong victories with little rest. Perhaps it was too much to ask the former high school quarterback to throw another Hail Mary.
The bookies said he had only about a 37% chance of winning, and he was facing a man saddled with the dubious label of “the best player never to win a Slam” and who had become the hottest Grand Slam player on the planet after winning the French Open this year.
For years, fate seemed to be telling the boy to perish. Traumatic collapses at Slams. A service that had a will of its own. A forehand that took vacations too often. A sprained ankle at Roland Garros and, yes, allegations of domestic violence that were, shall we say, deeply disturbing.
The veteran could be charming. His humor was wry, his dressing room popularity simple, his work to counter diabetes impressive.
He just couldn’t win on the big stage.
John McEnro commented that Zverev “plays not to lose”.
After he won the French Open and, enjoying his newfound freedom, reached the Wimbledon final.
At the US Open, he was two down after losing in the first round and said he “played like something”. He laughed, survived five sets and was in fantastic form afterwards. And he hadn’t faced a Top Twenty enemy since Paris.
When foes like Taylor Fritz and Learner Tien fell, the confident Zverev brushed aside his modest opponents. Here was a man in the ascent. The big names of the game – Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Alcaraz, Siner – were not in his way.
His only obstacle was a charming kid who looked like a tight end and had a beautiful, famous girlfriend. But no problem. Sasha had beaten Shelton 5 times in a row without much fanfare. He had won the last 12 sets they had played, and Ben’s lefty forehands played right into his strength, his powerful backhand.
Besides, this wasn’t the Zverev of old. This was Alexander the Great, imbued with faith. The German had not dropped a set after the second round. He reached his sixth Grand Slam final and third in a row.
From Paris to Rome to New York, the 29-year veteran has long felt the sting of hostile crowds. He knew that only a few supported him in New York. But the German embraced the moment. More knowingly than hostilely, he said. “I hope the American dream doesn’t come true.”
But Shelton, increasingly calm and aware, seemed unconcerned. He gave no assurances like Broadway’s Joe Namath, but he implied a quiet joy; Amazingly, all the nice people at Ashe Stadium settled in quickly. But Ben didn’t.
Like many playing their first Slam final, he got off to a rocky start. Andy Roddick told us: “There is no way to talk sense into your nervous system.” With three faults and a double fault, he dropped the first game. And then things didn’t go so well. Zverev said that you can’t think during the game, you just have to flow.
And flow he did.
Relaxing and playing within himself, he served great, played good defense, absorbed Ben’s power, dominated rallies and knew when to hit. Nervous Ben couldn’t consistently open up the field. His serve was unforced, his forehand rarely exploded, his net charges often futile.
It had a couple of modest openings, but they quickly disappeared. And when Zverev held his 56th straight serve against Benn, he won the first set 6-3.
As actor Adam Driver watched, Ash’s 29,000 fans were taken aback. They knew who was in the driver’s seat.
But don’t worry. John McEnroe noted that the Knicks fell behind by 29 points against the Spurs. And in the course of reaching the final, Ben had come back to win three times after losing the first set. Additionally, Zverev has a history of devastating collapses.
But the Open first-set winner has won 30 of the last 33 Open finals.
With Zverev injecting himself with his diabetes-related tweaks, Shelton hoped to inject energy into the match.
It was difficult. Sasha’s annoying playmaking skills were clear. He kept bouncing the ball before serving.
The battle escalated as Shelton started to hold easily and Zverev’s level dropped a bit. After Shelton’s key volley winner, the crowd finally erupted. But in the second set, the German exploded. He unleashed an inspired backhand laser and hit a 147 mph backhand as he raced to a 7-2 lead in a one-sided second set tiebreak.
The fans asked. “Where are Shelton’s explosive forehands, his uncanny anticipation and his astonishing athleticism, that dazed Alcaraz and Tiafoe?”
Defeat was expected. But after an almost meaningless 2:49, Ben came in and upped his aggression and Sasha blinked. Grundy’s errors and a missed volley finally gave the Americans a break of service and the third set at 7-5. It ended Zverev’s 66-game winning streak.
Matching is enabled – correct?
Wrong.
Ben gasped. The German fought back and took advantage of Shelton’s double fault to register a key break to open the fourth set.
Ben fought bravely and came close to breaking again. While Ben’s power faded again, Zverev’s focus was fierce and his decision-making superb. His 130 mph serve, his unwavering stamina, experience and athletic shooting have paid dividends.
And after 3:32, Sasha stepped up to serve, hoping to become the first German since Boris Becker to win the Open. His maroon shorts drenched in sweat, he bounced the ball 13 times and unleashed a 137 mph fastball to win 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 for his second Slam in three months.
Soon she turned to Ben and told him. “I’ll bet all my money that you’ll lift this trophy one day.” He apologized to the fans for keeping them up so late at the start of the tournament and added: “I know 99.9% of people wanted Ben to win, so I’m sorry.” He then thanked the most important person in his life, his mother, who, when the doctor told him that her four-year-old son had diabetes and his life would be very limited, replied: Sasha added: “It takes an incredibly strong woman to do what she did.”
He then talked about all the work he and his team have done over the years and said, “I think 2026 is the result of all the years… I think God has seen our heart.”
And today New York saw the heart of a German.
It was a moment in time. It just wasn’t what American fans wanted.
So after our best 23-year-old failed to break the 23-year-old curse, we imagined that above, Arthur Ashe simply sighed. “Oh well, our moment will come.”
STANFORD MARCEL LATAK WINS THE US OPEN. It’s been a great summer for Stanford tennis. Cardinal Arthur Ferry was the Cinderella of Wimbledon. Coach Dick Gould was honored with some pomp and circumstance last Saturday. And yesterday, Stanford’s Marcel Latak of Chicago saved three championship points against Brazilian world No. 1 Guto Miguel Jr. to win 15-13 in the decider to become the first American boy since Taylor Fritz in 11 years to win a US Open junior title.
Latak beat half the leaders en route to the title. By the way, in 2023, Stanford freshman Catherine Hui won the girls’ title.
DOUBLE PROBLEM. It’s been quite a year for American Christian Harrison and British Neil Skupski. The pair defeated Germany’s Kevin Kravitz and Tim Puetz 6-4, 7-6 to win the US Open men’s doubles, adding to the Australian Open crown they won in January. Even better, they didn’t drop a set in New York, becoming just the third men’s team in the Open era to win the US Open without a loss.