World number two Zverev has enjoyed his best year on the Tour, reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the final at Wimbledon alongside his French Open and US Open successes.
He has been aided by injuries to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who swept the majors in the past two seasons, but a strengthened mentality and dedication to fitness has also helped.
“There is no-one as fit as Zverev, he is right up there,” former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“You can argue about Alcaraz and Sinner, and Novak [Djokovic] and Rafa [Nadal] when they were in their prime physically, but Zverev is right up there as one of the best athletes to play the sport.”
Zverev was taken to five sets in his first two matches, with both finishing in the early hours of the New York morning.
He was two points from defeat in the first round, but rallied, played his way into form and did not drop a set from the third round until the final.
Faced with a partisan crowd against Shelton, Zverev did not buckle. He kept his emotions deliberately in check and, even though he lost the third set, never loosened his grip on the match.
“I’m so admiring of his strength of character and the zen-like state he’s been in since the very beginning of the match,” said former British number one Annabel Croft.
“The most extraordinary thing – and I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed it – was that he didn’t realise he had won.
“It was so bizarre, but it was like he was in a trance-like state while he was playing.”
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