Alexander Zverev knows exactly what awaits him in the US Open final. With an American on the other side of the net, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd behind him, he should be intimidated. But turns out Zverev has other plans.
“Yeah, I think it’s going to be incredibly special, especially these two guys, Frances and Ben; they’re crowd favorites here in New York,” Zverev said during his on-court interview. “Everybody loves them, and I think tonight is going to be an absolutely epic semifinal. I’m looking forward to watching it, and hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday.”
It has been quite a turnaround for Zverev this year. The world No. 2 secured his place in the US Open final after getting past Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6). just three months after he won the French Open, his first Grand Slam title. He admitted that even his own team had been laughing at how badly he was playing earlier in the tournament.
“Sitting with my team in the locker room, and we were actually laughing our a** off how bad I was playing,” Zverev said. “And, you know, that kind of sense of humor, it helped me. I was so close so many times… and I’m enjoying it. I love playing these big finals, and I can’t wait for Sunday.”
Zverev will go against Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton in the finals. Whoever comes through, the American will have the crowd firmly on his side when the final gets underway.
It will be Zverev’s sixth Grand Slam final and his first US Open final since 2020, when he lost to Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets. This time, though, he’ll have an entire stadium hoping he doesn’t win, and Zverev seems more than happy to embrace that challenge.
Getting to the final was far from straightforward for Zverev, even though the straight-sets might suggest otherwise.
The German made the first move in the semifinal, breaking Khachanov at 4-3 in the opening set. A 16-shot rally ended with the Russian putting a backhand into the net, and Zverev took advantage of his first break point of the match. He then served out the set 6-3.
Khachanov came back strongly in the second set. The Russian found his big forehand and started winning the longer rallies, eventually earning two break points at 2-2. Zverev then double-faulted, handing Khachanov the break. Though the lead, did not last long.
Zverev fought his way back, and then tiebreak, which was another battle. Zverev eventually took it 9-7.
Next, Khachanov produced a spectacular backhand shot, but a wide forehand on Zverev’s third set point handed the German a two-set advantage.
By this point, neither player managed to break serve, with Khachanov particularly impressive behind his first delivery. And again, a tiebreak decided it as Khachanov came out firing and moved 3-0 ahead, putting himself in position to extend the match.
But Zverev fought back, got the mini-break he needed, and at 6-6, the German shot an ace to bring up match point. Just a point later, it was done, and Zverev won.
After winning Roland Garros earlier this year, and this followed by a Wimbledon final, this win will be another Grand Slam final with his second major at stake.
The German entered the semifinal having won 28 tiebreaks this year, while Khachanov had won eight. And he needed that experience, as both the second and third sets went down to the wire.
Though Khachanov did make things interesting in the third-set tiebreak, Zverev refused to let the match slip away. Now, he’ll sit back and watch Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe go head-to-head.
Whether it is Tiafoe or Shelton, Zverev already knows what the atmosphere will be like. The crowd will have an American to cheer for, and he just hopes they leave disappointed.
