Alexander Zverev defeats Karen Khachanov to reach US Open final
Alexander Zverev advanced to the US Open final with a straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov on Friday, setting up a championship showdown.
NEW YORK — Alexander Zverev has booked his place in the US Open final with a straight-sets victory over Karen Khachanov, immediately turning his attention to a hostile home crowd as he prepares to face a partisan American opponent on Sunday, September 13, 2026. Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true,
Zverev said following his 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) triumph on Friday afternoon, setting up a high-stakes showdown at Flushing Meadows.
The top seed’s straight-sets win propels him into his third consecutive Grand Slam final of the year, cementing a dominant 2026 major campaign across three different surfaces. Yet, as Yahoo Sports notes, Zverev must contend with intense local stakes as he prepares to face either eighth seed Ben Shelton or 11th seed Frances Tiafoe in the championship match, with American fans eagerly waiting to end a men's major title drought that dates back to Andy Roddick's 2003 victory.
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From Five-Set Scares to Title Consistency
Zverev's path to the New York final required a drastic physical and mental turnaround. As ABC News reports, the German entered the tournament as the top seed following injuries to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but immediately stumbled by laboring through five-set marathons against Lorenzo Sonego and Quentin Halys that forced him to spend nearly nine and a half hours on court. 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,
Zverev told Bbc Sport, noting that his team's shared humor helped spark his recovery.
| Grand Slam Tournament | Surface | Result |
|---|---|---|
| French Open | Clay | Won title (first major) |
| Wimbledon | Grass | Runner-up (lost to Jannik Sinner) |
| US Open | Hard | Finalist (pending Sunday) |
That turnaround unlocked a relentless run of form. Having previously broken through for his maiden major title at Roland Garros in June and reached the Wimbledon final in July, Zverev boasts a 24-2 record in Grand Slam matches this season, according to Cbc Sports. Sometimes just things go your way and I feel like I've had a lot of struggles at the major level, I was so close so many times, and maybe this year God has said that this is going to be your year and just enjoy the time on the court,
Zverev reflected.
Surviving Khachanov's Tie-Break Pressure
Friday's semifinal was far more testing than the straight-sets scoreline implies. Khachanov, who arrived in New York with a losing record for the season, mounted an aggressive bid to reach his first major final as the lowest-ranked US Open finalist since the ATP rankings began in 1973, per Abc News. After dropping the opening set 6-3, the world number 50 broke back in the second set and forced a tense tie-break, during which he saved set points before losing a grueling 34-shot rally.
The third set proved even more perilous for the top seed. Khachanov built commanding leads of 3-0 and 5-2 in the tie-break, earning two set points. According to BBC Sport, Zverev's superior mental resilience proved decisive as he erased both set points and closed out the match when Khachanov sent a forehand long. As one observer noted via Yahoo Sports, those final two tie-breaks were well within the Russian's reach before Zverev tightened his baseline defense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Alexander Zverev reach the US Open final?
Zverev defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) in the semifinals on Friday. Though he struggled through five-set matches in the first two rounds, he has won 13 consecutive sets since.
Who will Zverev play in the US Open final?
Zverev will face the winner of the Friday night semifinal match between American players Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe.
The victory sets the stage for Zverev to exorcise the ghosts of his heartbreaking 2020 US Open final defeat, where he surrendered a two-set lead to Dominic Thiem. While ticket prices for Friday afternoon's mismatch in crowd attention were surprisingly low, according to ABC News, the atmosphere on Sunday is expected to be intensely partisan. The outcome hinges entirely on the Friday night semifinal clash between Shelton and Tiafoe, which will determine which American fan favorite steps onto the court to challenge Zverev for the championship.
Chasing History and Reclaiming New York
According to BBC Sport, Zverev's journey to the championship match includes converting all nine points at the net and winning 13 of 15 points behind his first serve during the opening set against Khachanov. CBC Sports noted that Zverev's stellar 24-2 match record across Grand Slam tournaments in 2026 underscores a remarkable transformation for a player who previously endured repeated heartbreak on the major stage. ABC News further reported that Zverev entered the tournament as the top seed following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal due to a knee injury, shouldering the historical weight of top-seeded expectations after surviving nearly nine and a half hours on court across his opening two rounds.
As Yahoo Sports reported, American supporters have surprisingly crossed national lines to back the German contender, even as local fans simultaneously rally behind the prospect of ending a men's major title drought stretching back to Andy Roddick's 2003 victory. With the Friday night semifinal clash between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe determining his ultimate adversary, Zverev now focuses entirely on the next step required to claim the trophy he narrowly missed lifting in 2020.
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