Zverev survives two tie-breaks he was losing against Khachanov, to reach a third straight Grand Slam final
Alexander Zverev (No. 1) beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) in the semifinals of the US Open 2026 to reach a third consecutive Grand Slam final and the sixth of his career. Khachanov won more points than Zverev in the second set and led the third-set tie-break 4-1 with two set points.
Alexander Zverev, US Open 2026 | © Juergen Hasenkopf/Psnewz
The scoreline says Alexander Zverev won in straight sets and it is the least accurate thing about the first men’s singles US Open semifinal. The German top seed beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) on Friday evening in New York to reach the US Open final, having been outplayed for long stretches of both sets he did not drop.
Zverev plays the winner of the all-American semifinal between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton. He is the only Grand Slam champion left in the draw, and whoever comes through will be chasing a first.
Khachanov won more points than him in the second set, 44 to 43, and lost it. He led the tie-break 3-1, was pegged back, went 5-3 up and then watched Zverev take six of the last eight points, the German converting the third of three set points to win it 9-7.
The third set was worse and ended the same way. Khachanov led the tie-break 4-1 and was three points from taking the match into a fourth. At 4-2 he struck a forehand crosscourt that looked like the point, and Zverev counter-punched a winner into the corner. From 5-2 then 6-4, the Russian had two set points and missed both with forehand errors, and Zverev took it 8-6 when a Khachanov backhand went long.
Fifteen aces against six
What held Zverev up when the rallies did not was the serve. He hit 15 aces to six, reached 142 mph and averaged 125 against Khachanov’s 110, and won 79% of the points behind his first serve and 56% behind his second. He finished with 37 winners to 28 and, tellingly, 34 unforced errors against Khachanov’s 36: this was not a match anybody controlled.
It is the sixth Grand Slam final of Zverev’s career and his second at the US Open after 2020. More striking is the run: Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and now New York, three in a row inside one season. He has lost two matches at majors all year, to Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne semifinal and Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final.
It is also his 52nd win of 2026, and his fourth consecutive straight-sets victory here after the two five-setters that opened his fortnight, against Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4 and French player Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-3. Since then he has beaten Chilean No. 25 seed Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-2, Italian No. 21 seed Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) and Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.
I was sitting with my team in the locker room and we were actually laughing our ass off how bad I was playing.
Zverev dates his tournament from a conversation in the locker room at three in the morning after his second round, the second of the two five-setters. “I was sitting with my team in the locker room and we were actually laughing our ass off how bad I was playing,” he said. “That kind of sense of humor, it helped me. Next day on the practice court I started feeling the ball a lot better. And then moving forward I was playing much better tennis, and I obviously have improved a little bit, otherwise I would not be in the US Open final.”
Asked what has changed in a season that has produced three consecutive major finals, he began with a joke at the expense of the man interviewing him. “At the end of last year I did your podcast, which is called Nothing Major, and then I decided to have some majors in me because I didn’t want to do that podcast again.”
Then the serious answer. “Sometimes things just go your way, and I feel like I’ve had a lot of struggle at the major level. I was so close so many times, and maybe this year God has said that this is gonna be your year and just enjoy the time on the court. And I’m enjoying it. I love playing these big finals and I can’t wait for Sunday.”
One statistic frames how the draw has fallen for him. Since 1973, only Roger Federer, at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in 2008, has reached multiple Grand Slam finals in a season without facing a top 20 opponent on the way. Zverev is the second.
Khachanov leaves with the numbers and without the match
Khachanov, ranked No. 50 and unseeded, was in a third Grand Slam semifinal and a second here after 2022. He had removed Canadian No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and come from two sets to one down against American No. 14 seed Learner Tien 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4 along the way.
Khachanov will be World No.26 on Monday.
