In his first Grand Slam final, played on home soil, a maiden Grand Slam title was in sight for Ben Shelton.
However, hoping to become the first local US Open men’s singles champion since Andy Roddick in 2003, the 23-year-old was denied at the last hurdle.
Shelton fell in a four-set battle to top seed Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(2) 5-7 6-2, who secured his second major in three months.
In a tournament where the young Americans threatened to take over given their lead-in form, Shelton was the best-performed of that group.
The Montreal champion used his Canadian Open title defence as a springboard to complete his career-best run at a major.
Although Shelton required three hard-fought victories in his first three rounds in New York to kickstart momentum, he quickly burst into title contention.
Following an emphatic straight-sets win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last 16, Shelton overcame a 0-17 record against top-three players to dethrone reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal thriller.
The 2023 US Open semifinalist finally felt the high of a major final and he is craving more.
“Walking out on that court today, there's nothing like it. I've never felt anything like that before. It's an addicting feeling being in positions like this,” he said.
“For me it sucked the last couple of Grand Slams sitting at home for 10, 11, 12 days while the tournament is still going on, watching everyone else run through the draw.
"You know, it's motivating. Losing in the final is also motivating, but this is the position I want to be in.
“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.
“But to win on Sundays, you got to play a very high level of great tennis. Anyone that you're playing at this stage in the tournament is going to be grooved and playing amazing. You’ve just got to be better.”
Shelton produced many positives in Sunday’s final. He led the winners category 47 to 35 and did something that no one has been able to do in 66 games – break Zverev’s serve.
However, he was not as efficient as the German, striking 16 more unforced errors. Against an opponent who offers little margin for error, Shelton could not produce a winning formula.
“He’s got the best serve in tennis,” Shelton said. “I think if you combine that with as good as he is as a tennis player outside the serve, how complete he is. He's gotten so much better at the net. He's an elite mover at 6'7". He's got a lot of length, so he returns really well.
“I definitely didn't execute from the ground the way I wanted to. As the match went on, I couldn't ask anything more of my backhand side, but I didn't hit my forehand well today. I wasn't accurate with it when I attacked with it. I made too many errors when I had the ball there on my strings.”
Despite the defeat, Shelton is set to be rewarded with a new career-high ranking of world No.4.
His attention now turns to Australian Open 2027 where he will take the confidence of his Flushing Meadows campaign Down Under.
“I'm motivated. Disappointed with how today went but I’m happy with how I fought throughout the two weeks. I’m excited with the progress I feel that I've made,” he said.
“This one stings 100 percent but it's on to the next. Try to keep getting better and show up in Australia even stronger than I showed up here.”