Ben Shelton loses in US Open final to Zverev, but America has found its next big men's tennis star

Let’s get the obvious part out of the way immediately: This stinks.

Ben Shelton had a chance to end a 23-year Grand Slam drought for American men’s tennis on Sunday afternoon in New York.

Instead, Alexander Zverev beat him 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 to win the U.S.

Open and capture his second Grand Slam title of the year.

American men’s tennis missed a golden opportunity , but Shelton gave America a tennis star worth rooting for.

It's not the same as winning, but it's a major positive step for a country desperate to find the next great American player.

Shelton, making his first career Grand Slam final appearance, looked nervous from the start.

The first game told us exactly what kind of afternoon this might be.

He committed two errors to give Zverev an immediate break point, then double-faulted to hand over the break in the first game of the match.

Shelton double-faulted again on set point to drop the opening set, 6-3.

LADIES AT THE US OPEN WERE CAUGHT ON CAMERA TAKING NOTICE OF A SHIRTLESS CARLOS ALCARAZ The second set played out on even terms until the tiebreak, which is where Shelton’s game fell apart.

Zverev raced to a 5-0 lead and took it 7-2.

Zverev wasn’t blowing Shelton off the court, which is what made the match so frustrating to watch.

Shelton kept getting into winnable points on Zverev’s serve, only to miss a forehand, dump a backhand into the net or choose the wrong shot at the wrong moment.