Alexander Zverev Advances to US Open Final with Convincing Win
Alexander Zverev marched past Karen Khachanov and into a third consecutive Grand Slam final on Friday night, tightening his grip on a season that is starting to look like his defining one.
The top seed, already a major champion this year, subdued the Russian 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6) at the US Open, a straight-sets scoreline that only hints at the tension threaded through the evening.
Zverev owns the big stages now
For years, Zverev carried the label of nearly man at the majors. That tag has been ripped off. His French Open title in June broke the dam; his run to the Wimbledon final in July confirmed it. Now, in New York, he stands one win away from a second Slam of the year and a sixth major title match of his career.
With Jannik Sinner and defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz both hampered by injuries this season, the 29-year-old German has become the tour’s metronome at the highest level, reaching all four Grand Slam semi-finals in 2024. The reliability that once eluded him has finally arrived.
He will face either Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe in Sunday’s final, two Americans built for the Arthur Ashe stage and adored by the New York crowd.
“I think it will be incredibly special, especially, these two guys are crowd favourites and everyone loves them,” Zverev said on court. “Tonight will be an epic semi-final and I am looking forward to watching it. Hopefully I can not make their American dream come true.”
From 3am doubts to New York dominance
This run did not begin smoothly. Zverev was dragged to five sets in each of his opening two matches, stuck on court deep into the New York night and wrestling more with his own level than with his opponents.
“After the second round, at about 3am I was sitting with my team in the locker room and we were laughing at how bad I was playing,” he admitted. “That sense of humour helped me. I obviously have improved a bit otherwise I would not be in the US Open final.”
He has not dropped a set since.
Against world number 50 Khachanov, that improvement was clear from the first ball. Zverev’s serve, the barometer of his confidence, was rock solid early. He won 13 of 15 points behind his first delivery in the opening set and all nine points at the net, a statistic that underlined how decisively he was dictating.
The break came at 4-3, Zverev cracking through to lead 5-3 before calmly serving out the set. Khachanov, who can look unstoppable when his heavy baseline game finds rhythm, never quite got the first set on his terms.
Knife-edge tie-breaks, one ruthless closer
The second set told a different story. Khachanov dug in, absorbed Zverev’s weight of shot and began to swing more freely. Even after going a break down early, he refused to fade, clawing his way back and forcing the set into a tie-break.
There, he produced one of the shots of the match: facing set point, he uncorked a magnificent backhand at the end of a 22-shot rally, a clean winner that left the crowd roaring and Zverev momentarily stalled.
The pressure should have shifted. Instead, Zverev tightened his focus.
On a pivotal point, he stepped up inside the baseline, took the initiative and forced another set point. This time he converted, outlasting Khachanov in a draining exchange, his defence from the back of the court as stubborn as it was precise. Two sets up, he had a stranglehold.
The third set became a serving contest. Neither man offered a single break point. Games ticked by, both players holding firm, and the match headed inexorably towards another tie-break.
Khachanov struck first there, settling quicker and surging ahead to create two set points. Again, Zverev refused to blink. He wiped both away, then surged past the Russian, reeling off the final points with the authority of a man who now expects to close these nights out.
The final act was brutal in its simplicity: Khachanov, stretched and under pressure, fired a forehand long. Zverev, impassive for much of the evening, finally let go.
He turned to his coaching team, arms spread wide, soaking in the moment before walking to the net to meet Khachanov. No wild celebration, just the look of a player who believes this is where he belongs.
New York, unfinished business
This will be Zverev’s second US Open final. The first, in 2020, ended in heartbreak as he lost a five-set epic to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets. That defeat haunted him for years.
Four years on, he returns to the same stage with a different aura: a Grand Slam champion, the top seed, and the man to beat in a draw stripped of its usual powerhouses.
Sunday brings either the raw electricity of Shelton or the flair and swagger of Tiafoe, backed by a partisan home crowd desperate for an American champion.
Zverev has already ruined one script this season. Is New York ready for him to tear up another?
