Zverev was the best in the majors this year, but won't call himself the best player in tennis

NEW YORK (AP) — Alexander Zverev won two Grand Slam titles and reached another final this year. He was the best player in the biggest events.

He's not ready to call himself the best player in tennis though.

Ben Shelton seemed willing to at least consider it after Zverev beat him 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday in the U.S. Open final to add that trophy to the French Open title he won in June.

“You’re one of the very best players in the world, maybe the best player in the world this year,” Shelton told Zverev during the trophy presentation.

This year, of course, was different than last year.

Carlos Alcaraz won the Australian Open title, but then had to miss the French Open and Wimbledon with a right wrist injury, getting hurt in April and then not playing again until the U.S. Open. Jannik Sinner beat Zverev in the Wimbledon final, but then the top-ranked player in men's tennis couldn't play in New York because of a knee injury.

Sinner and Alcaraz met in the last three Grand Slam finals in 2025.

Zverev took all that into consideration when asked if he considered himself the best player in men's tennis.

“With Jannik Sinner being injured and Carlos Alcaraz coming back from injury after four months, right now, this moment, probably yes. Both of them healthy and both of them at the top of their game, maybe not,” Zverev said.

“But if we say right now with Jannik being injured and Carlos coming back from injury, maybe. I mean, four, five months ago when both of them were healthy, I wasn’t. I was losing to Jannik all the time. So if everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”

Zverev did his job in the majors by beating the players who were there.

He went 25-2 in the four biggest tournaments and was the only man to reach the semifinals of all four. Forced to play five-setters in each of the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, the first No. 1-seeded man to do that in the Open era that dates to 1968, he didn't drop another set until the final.

Shelton, who can fire serves at more than 140 mph, said Zverev had the best serve on tour.

“I think you combine that with as good as he is as a tennis player outside the serve, you know how complete he is, he’s gotten so much better at the net,” Shelton said. “He’s an elite mover at 6-7. He’s got a lot of length, so he returns really well. Solid from the baseline and one of the fittest guys on tour, too. Yeah, he’s a tough guy to play, 100%.”

Shelton also said Zverev works harder than anyone he knew, and the German seemed more willing to agree with that assessment than the one about being the best player.

“I think I’m up there, for sure, because I’ve said it before, I don’t think I’m the most talented in any way. I don’t think I’m a God-given talent like some other guys are,” Zverev said. “I think most of my tennis is through hard work, through a lot of hours spent on the court, and through a lot of hours spent in the gym and on the track. That’s how I play tennis.”

The hard work helped him climb back toward the top after a severe ankle injury he sustained in the French Open semifinals in 2022, and finally to win the U.S. Open trophy he thought he should have had two years earlier.

Zverev won the first two sets against Dominic Thiem and got within two points of victory before becoming the first man to blow a two-set lead and lose in the final since 1949. That loss became easier to stomach once he finally broke through in Paris, even more so after he added another trophy and the $5.5 million winner's check Sunday.

“I think the scars of the 2020 final, they kind of disappeared after I won in Paris,” Zverev said. "I said it in Wimbledon. Even though I lost the final, I enjoyed the match, I enjoyed being in the Grand Slam final, I enjoyed playing on Centre Court, I enjoyed playing in front of an amazing crowd, in front of some celebrities and all that. I enjoyed doing that.

“Whereas before winning in Paris, I felt a lot of stress all the time, because there was always a question mark: Will I ever win one? What I think now is just more of a joy to play those kind of finals.”

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, poses with the trophy after he won the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ben Shelton, of the United States, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, holds up his trophy after winning the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ben Shelton, of the United States, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, holds his trophy after winning the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ben Shelton, of the United States, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, kisses the trophy after winning the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ben Shelton, of the United States, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, holds his trophy after winning the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ben Shelton, of the United States, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jordan Love was stood up at the line on a fourth-and-1 sneak for the Green Bay Packers, disappearing from view beneath a pile of purple-clad Minnesota Vikings defenders as the fate of a pivotal drive was turned over to the NFL's virtual measurement system.

When the digitized image of the ball short of the sticks appeared on the giant videoboard, the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium erupted.

The Vikings then drove 83 penalty-assisted yards for the go-ahead touchdown and a 25-22 lead, and they went on to close the game with 29 straight points for a 39-22 victory that left Packers coach Matt LaFleur's decision to forgo a field goal and try for a first down up for season-long debate.

Rookie Trey Smack's fourth field goal of the game would've put the Packers up 25-17, but an offside penalty on Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner tempted LaFleur to accept it and go for more.

“Sometimes you live and die by that, but we’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to try to go for the throat in that situation,” LaFleur said.

The Packers still had opportunities after that, but in concerning and infuriating fashion they erased three quarters of dominance over a division rival with an implosion down the stretch that looked an awful lot like the way they finished last season.

“The only people who can beat us are us. That’s it,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “We’re the best team in the NFL, but if we don’t go out there and play like it, no one’s going to believe us.”

The Packers lost four times last season when leading by at least nine points in the second half, including their collapse in the wild-card round of the playoffs at another NFC North enemy, the Chicago Bears. The Packers were outscored 25-6 in the fourth quarter of that game and 22-0 in this one, extending their losing streak to six games.

LaFleur gave Love two plays to run on the fourth-and-1, and Love picked the sneak, which was not even close to the biggest mistake the Packers made late.

“You know, I think there’s some stuff I could have done better with my operation, and even with the play call,” Love said. “We had two plays called right there. Went with the quarterback sneak. Thought we can get it, and we didn’t.”

The Packers had four defensive penalties on the ensuing drive after their turnover on downs, starting with an encroachment call on Jonathan Ford.

Javon Bullard was called for illegal contact to negate a third-down sack. Rookie Chris McClellan was penalized for a late hit to wipe out a third-down incompletion. Then Xavier McKinney’s defensive holding call erased an end-zone interception by Evan Williams, and Aaron Jones scored for the Vikings on the next play.

Though the penalties on McClellan and McKinney were contested by the Packers, they had only themselves to blame for this collapse.

They had 12 penalties for 98 yards, went 3 for 12 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth down, and scored only one touchdown and totaled just 10 points in four trips inside the 20-yard line. Even Smack's debut, which included a 59-yarder on a 4-for-4 performance on field goals, had a blemish with a missed extra point in the first quarter that could've altered the strategy late.

Love didn't take a sack until the last play of the third quarter and wound up with four, and he had a lost fumble and an interception deep in his own territory after the Vikings took the lead.

“We didn’t finish. I’m tired of saying this every time. I don’t want to talk about it no more,” linebacker Edgerrin Cooper said. “It’s what we've got to do. We've got to figure it out.”

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz, left, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, right, greet each other after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, left, and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) greet each other after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur responds to a question during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)