Alexander Zverev secured a place in his third straight major final by defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) in the U.S. Open semifinals on Friday afternoon. Zverev, who won the French Open in June and then finished runner-up at Wimbledon in July, prevailed after two hours and 58 minutes.
It was the 29-year-old German’s fourth consecutive straight-set win following two marathon matches to begin his tournament. He spent a total of nine hours and 26 minutes on court across 10 total sets while outlasting Lorenzo Sonego in the first round and Quentin Halys in the second.
“We were laughing my ass of about how bad I was playing,” Zverev reflected. “Moving forward I was playing much better. Obviously I have improved a little bit, otherwise I would not be in the U.S. Open final.”
It will be his sixth Grand Slam final and second in New York after losing to Dominic Thiem in five sets in 2020. Zverev led that match two sets to love.
The No. 1 seed will go up against either Ben Shelton or Frances Tiafoe in Sunday’s showpiece final. Whoever wins that semifinal showdown will be bidding to become the first American man to win a major singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open.
“I love playing these big finals, and I just can’t wait for Sunday,” Zverev assured. “I think it’s going to be incredibly special. Ben and Frances are crowd favorites in New York. Everybody loves them. Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true.”
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.