Top seed Alexander Zverev defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets on Friday, securing his spot in the US Open final. This marks Zverev’s third consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam final, showcasing his consistent performance on the tour.
“Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday,” said Zverev, who came agonizingly close to the US Open title in 2020 before falling to Dominic Thiem in five sets. He’ll face the winner of the all-American semi-final between eighth-seeded Ben Shelton and 11th seed Frances Tiafoe in Sunday’s championship match.
After a somewhat inauspicious start to the tournament, spending nine hours and 26 minutes on court in laborious five-set victories in the first and second rounds, Zverev has steadily upped his game. But the Russian, who fell to Zverev in the Olympic gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021, put up a spirited challenge in the second and third sets. But when Khachanov took a 6-4 lead in the tiebreaker he surrendered both set points with forehand errors.
“Straight-set win, but anything but straightforward in a way,” Zverev said. “He played incredibly well, fought incredibly well. The Russian couldn’t resist a grin when he snuck a passing shot by Zverev to open the fourth game, and flung his arm into the air in celebration three points later when a forehand winner gave him his first break chance of the match, which he converted when Zverev double faulted. Neither player mustered a break point in a tense third set. Zverev came up with his 15th ace and sealed the win on the next point when Khachanov sent a forehand long.
