Zverev reaches third straight Grand Slam final at US Open
Alexander Zverev defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets to reach his third consecutive Grand Slam final, setting up a US Open championship match against the winner of Friday's all-American semi-final between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.
German top seed Alexander Zverev has booked his place in the US Open final after defeating Russia's Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) in the semi-final. It marks Zverev's third straight Grand Slam final and the sixth of his career.
The 29-year-old enters as the favourite in New York after finally claiming his first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June. He followed that up by reaching the Wimbledon final in July, where he lost in four sets to world number one Jannik Sinner.
With Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz both dealing with injuries this season, Zverev has built the consistency needed to reach the semi-finals at all four majors this year. He started slowly in New York, needing five sets to win each of his first two matches, but has not dropped a set since.
Against world number 50 Khachanov, Zverev faced a brief scare in the third set, saving two set points, but otherwise controlled the match. Afterward, Zverev said that following his second-round match, he and his team had laughed at around 3am about how poorly he had played, and that sense of humour helped him push through.
Zverev dominated the first set, winning 13 of 15 points on his first serve and all nine points at the net, breaking Khachanov's serve to close it out 6-3. Khachanov rallied in the second set after falling behind early, forcing a tie-break marked by a lengthy 22-shot rally, but Zverev ultimately prevailed after another gruelling exchange.
In the third set, neither player faced a break point, sending the match to a second tie-break. Khachanov raced ahead and earned two set points, but Zverev saved both before closing out the win when Khachanov sent a forehand long.
Zverev will face either eighth seed Ben Shelton or 11th seed Frances Tiafoe in Sunday's final, with the two Americans meeting in Friday's night semi-final. It will be Zverev's second US Open final, having previously lost a five-set thriller to Dominic Thiem in 2020.
