​Alexander Zverev secured his second Grand Slam title of the year with victory against Ben Shelton on Sunday.The big-serving German proved too strong for the wily American, triumphing 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.It was almost the complete performance by Zverev, who hilariously forgot the score upon winning the title in New York.2026 has most certainly been the year of Alexander Zverev: the German has reached three Grand Slam finals, winning two.This campaign alone should make Zverev a future Hall of Fame inductee.Alexander Zverev is now a future Hall of Fame playerBefore this year, one could have comfortably argued for Alexander Zverev’s omission from the International Tennis Hall of Fame.Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesHowever, the German has now had a career year and become the first German player to win a Grand Slam singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open.Of course, Zverev did not play either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz in either of his title-winning runs in Paris and New York.Alcaraz and Sinner are Zverev’s two biggest rivals, and some may argue that Zverev was handed an easier path to Grand Slam glory than some of his peers.This is a redundant argument, in truth – Zverev cannot control the draw and he has delivered on the biggest stages this year.With two Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal, two ATP Finals triumphs and six Masters titles to his name, Zverev is most definitely a future Hall of Famer.YearHall of Fame Inductees2021Lleyton Hewitt2023Esther Vergeer, Rick Draney2024Leander Paes2025Maria Sharapova, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan2026Roger FedererIs Alexander Zverev the best player in the world?“I don’t know how to answer that,” Zverev said during his post-match press conference on Sunday when asked if he is now the best player on the planet. “You have to take everything into consideration. 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 at the top of their game, maybe not. “But if we say right now with Jannik being injured and Carlos coming back from injury, maybe. 4 or 5 months ago when both of them were healthy, I wasn’t. “I was losing to Jannik all the time. “If everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”Sinner did not participate in the US Open due to a knee injury. The status of said injury remains uncertain in the leadup to the Asian Swing and European indoor circuit.However, fans of Sinner received some positive news on Monday: the Italian is set to defend his Vienna Open title in October.Zverev, who lost to Sinner in the 2025 Vienna Open final, is also set to compete.As for Carlos Alcaraz, he advanced to the quarter-finals in New York, in what was his first tournament back from long-term injury.