Alexander Zverev Advances to Third Straight Grand Slam Final
Alexander Zverev marched past Karen Khachanov and into a third straight Grand Slam final, tightening his grip on a season that is starting to feel like his own.
The top seed delivered a cold, controlled performance under the New York lights, beating the Russian 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6) to reach his second US Open final and keep alive his push for a second major title of the year.
A man in command
This is a very different Zverev to the one who used to flinch on the biggest stages. The 29-year-old arrived in New York as the clear favourite, his long wait for a major finally broken by that French Open triumph in June, and his run to the Wimbledon final in July reinforcing the sense of a player who now expects to be here, deep into the second week.
Against world number 50 Khachanov, he played like it.
Zverev ripped through the opening set behind a dominant first serve, winning 13 of 15 points behind it and all nine points at the net. He broke to lead 5-3, then shut the door with the calm of a man who has served out sets like this all summer. Khachanov, solid but subdued, spent most of the opener chasing shadows.
The German’s celebration at the end – arms stretched wide to his coaching team before turning to the net – told its own story. This was not relief. This was confirmation.
Tie-break tension
Khachanov, though, refused to fold. When Zverev snatched an early break in the second set, the match looked ready to run away from the Russian. Instead, he dug in, began to hit through the ball, and clawed his way back.
The quality lifted. Rallies lengthened. One 22-shot exchange ended with Khachanov uncorking a magnificent backhand winner to save set point, a moment that finally jolted Arthur Ashe Stadium into full voice.
For the first time all night, Zverev looked under real stress. The second-set tie-break became a test of nerve as much as shot-making. The top seed blinked? Not this version.
On a pivotal point, Zverev stepped forward, took control of the rally and forced Khachanov into defence, grinding him down from the baseline before seizing another set point. This time he converted, outlasting the Russian in a draining exchange that underlined the difference between a man chasing a breakthrough and a man used to this altitude.
The pressure finally told.
Holding the line
By the third set, both men were locked into their service rhythms. Not a single break point surfaced. Games flew by, each serve game a small armistice before the next skirmish from the back of the court.
The tie-break arrived again, and this time Khachanov struck first. He settled quickly, surged ahead, and carved out two set points to extend the contest and test Zverev’s legs and resolve.
Zverev slammed the door.
He saved both, tightening his patterns, leaning again on that heavy first serve and elastic defence. Once he dragged himself back level in the breaker, the outcome felt inevitable. From there, the top seed did not give Khachanov another opening, and the Russian finally cracked, pushing a forehand long to hand over the match.
Zverev barely reacted at first, just a brief look to his team, then that familiar, expansive celebration. Sixth major final. Second in New York. Another step in a season that keeps building.
From 3am doubts to a New York shot at redemption
This run has not been seamless. Zverev started this US Open slowly, taken to five sets in each of his opening two matches. At about 3am after the second round, he admitted, he sat in the locker room with his team, laughing at how badly he had played. That dark humour, he suggested, helped reset the mood.
Since then, he has not dropped a set.
With Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz both hampered by injuries this year, Zverev has found a level of consistency that has carried him into all four Grand Slam semi-finals. Now he stands one match away from a second major of 2024 and a chance to rewrite his own New York history after that heartbreaking five-set defeat to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 final.
Waiting for him on Sunday will be either Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe, two Americans who light up this stadium and feed off the home roar. Zverev knows what is coming.
“I think it will be incredibly special, especially, these two guys are crowd favourites and everyone loves them,” he said, already eyeing the night session semi-final. “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.”
The stage is set: one German chasing a second slam of the year, an American hopeful desperate to claim his home major, and a city that remembers exactly how close Zverev came last time.
