Zverev turns US Open tears into triumph

Six years ago, the German top seed threw away a two-set lead in a devastating loss to Dominic Thiem, having served for the match in the fifth set.

This time, instead of his own nerves, it was American Ben Shelton and the majority of the 24,000-strong crowd that stood in Zverev's way. But this was a different Zverev: a Grand Slam champion now, having won the French Open in June. Such was his focus that he did not initially realise he had sealed a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-2 victory. After firing down another unstoppable serve to win the match, Zverev returned to the baseline ready to start the next point - only to be told by his team the match was over. "In that moment I was in the zone a lot. I didn't hear noise at all," Zverev said. "It's funny - tennis teachers always tell you to just play the next point and forget about the score. At that moment I forgot about the score and it helped me."