Zverev completes remarkable turnaround to win second Grand Slam title at US Open

Alexander Zverev beat American Ben Shelton 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-2 in New York to win the US Open for the first time, six years after he was reduced to tears by a final defeat to Dominic Thiem on the same court.

According to a report for BBC Sportby Paul Battison and Phil Cartwright, the German was so absorbed in the contest that he did not immediately register he had won, returning to the baseline ready to play on before his team told him the match was over.

Zverev said afterwards that he had simply forgotten the score in the closing stages, adding that Germany had gone three decades without a Grand Slam singles champion before winning two in the space of three months following his French Open win in June.

The 29-year-old paid tribute to his mother, who supported him through a childhood diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, saying it had taken “a very strong mother” to insist he could still become whatever he wanted despite doctors' warnings that his sporting prospects would be limited.

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli told BBC Radio 5 Live that Zverev's fitness now ranks among the best in the sport, while former British number one Annabel Croft described his composure throughout the final as almost trance-like.