Top seed Alexander Zverev has advanced to the U.S. Open final, defeating unseeded Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) in the semifinal. He is now one win away from securing his second Grand Slam title of the year and second of his career.
Zverev will face either No. 8 Ben Shelton or No. 11 Frances Tiafoe in Sunday's final. His victory puts him in the position of potentially thwarting the first American men's Grand Slam champion in 23 years, since Andy Roddick, and the first Black men's U.S. Open winner since Arthur Ashe in 1968.
Zverev holds a strong record against both potential opponents. He is 5-0 all-time against Shelton, having won the last 10 sets they have played. Against Tiafoe, Zverev has a 9-1 career record, with his only loss occurring in 2017. Zverev has also won all four of their Grand Slam encounters.
This marks Zverev's second Grand Slam final appearance this year, following his run at Wimbledon. He was previously a finalist at the 2020 U.S. Open, where he came within two points of defeating Dominic Thiem before losing the match after winning the first two sets. This made him the first Open Era finalist in Queens to lose after taking the first two sets.
Despite facing challenges in his earlier matches at this year's U.S. Open, including being pushed to five sets in his first two matches, Zverev has found his stride. He entered the semifinals having spent more court time than any player since at least 1991, but has since won four consecutive matches in straight sets. In Friday's semifinal victory, he overcame a pair of set points in the final tiebreaker.
Khachanov was making his second appearance in a U.S. Open semifinal. Zverev's path to the final has been noted for facing lower-ranked opponents, and he will encounter a top-20 player for the first time in this tournament in the final. In his previous Grand Slam final appearances, including the 2020 U.S. Open and this year's Wimbledon, Zverev did not face a top-20 player until the final match or later in the tournament.
Prior to this tournament, Zverev won a Grand Slam at the French Open, becoming the first player in four years to win a major outside of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic. In that tournament, he did not face a top-25 seed until defeating No. 10 Flavio Cobolli in the final.
The U.S. Open has seen several notable withdrawals and upsets, including pre-tournament injuries and early exits from top contenders like Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, as well as Carlos Alcaraz. With these developments, Zverev, the top seed, remains as the final obstacle for an American player to win the title.