Alexander Zverev has another chance to win the US Open, six years after coming agonisingly close to lifting the trophy in New York. The German reached his second Flushing Meadows final on Friday with a 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) win over Karen Khachanov, completing a remarkable turnaround after arriving at the tournament unsure whether he could go deep.
Zverev was pushed to five sets in each of his first two matches but has since won four straight without dropping a set. One more victory on Sunday would give him a second Grand Slam title after his breakthrough at this year’s Roland Garros.
“I really started off the tournament, and I was like, ‘Well, this is pointless because I’m not going to do anything here,’ and here I am sitting and preparing for a Sunday final,” Zverev told reporters.
Into a third consecutive Grand Slam final 👏👏👏@AlexZverev #USOpen pic.twitter.com/8TvBYzqPws
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 11, 2026
Zverev’s Two-Point US Open Heartbreak
The German’s run has brought back memories of his first US Open final in 2020, when he came within two points of beating Dominic Thiem for his maiden Grand Slam title.
Zverev had led by two sets and was serving for the championship at 5-4 in the deciding set before Thiem fought back to win the title in a fifth-set tiebreak.
“I didn’t play well that entire tournament. That never changed, funny enough, and I made it to the final, and I was two points away from winning,” Zverev said.
Six years on, the top seed said he was a different player, having gained experience through a string of major finals and, crucially, finally winning his long-awaited Grand Slam crown at this year’s Roland Garros.
“I was inexperienced. I was still a young guy,” he said of 2020. “Everything is different.”
A Very Different Arthur Ashe Stadium
Zverev will now face an American in a sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium, either Frances Tiafoe or Ben Shelton.
The setting could hardly be more different from 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the U.S. Open to be played without spectators and Zverev’s loss unfolded inside an eerily empty Ashe.
Rather than fearing a partisan crowd, Zverev said he was looking forward to it.
“I think it’s going to be a fantastic feeling playing, you know, a final in a sold-out Arthur Ashe and not in an empty one,” he said. “For me, a loud and energetic crowd is always great, as long as they’re fair.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
