By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - An American men's Grand Slam drought will stretch into a 24th year, after German Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton in the final of the U.S. Open on Sunday to the bitter disappointment of the home crowd in New York.
Shelton was not even a year old when the last American Grand Slam winner, Andy Roddick, hoisted the U.S. Open trophy in 2003. The golden era of Agassi and Sampras appeared an ever-more distant memory as eighth seed Shelton fell 6-3 7-6(2) 5-7
6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"I'm sorry it's the wrong winner this year," said Zverev. "But I did my job."
Beating the American men is a job global tennis has performed quite well over the last quarter century.
As the likes of Venus and Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys collected hardware on the women's side, the U.S. men have rarely found their way into a championship final.
Roddick reached his last final at Wimbledon in 2009. It took another 15 years for another American man to contend a title match, when Taylor Fritz played Italian Jannik Sinner in New York.
Shelton said he was eager to get another taste of the spotlight on tennis' biggest stage.
"It's such a cool moment. Walking out on that court today, there's nothing like it. I've never felt anything like that before. Yeah, it's an addicting feeling being in positions like this," he told reporters.
The USTA previously pointed to Fritz's 2024 campaign as a sign of progress, after announcing a massive overhaul to its player development programme in 2008. Fritz was a product of USTA camps, along with Frances Tiafoe, who reached the semi-finals for a third time this year.
The sport's national governing body has also moved to diversify its talent in a partnership announced last year with American Tennis Association, focusing on building Black representation in an overwhelmingly white sport.
Shelton made history just by stepping onto the court on Sunday as the first Black American man to play in the New York final in 54 years - since Ashe, the man for whom the tournament's showpiece court was named.
"I don't think I'm anywhere near the player that I want to be. I think I'm a great competitor. I think I compete really well out there on the court," said Shelton.
"I'm able it stay focused and stay there on the court for many, many hours. I think that's going to help me in the future moving forward."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Neil Fullick)
