Alexander Zverev Returns to US Open Final with Confidence
NEW YORK – Alexander Zverev walked back into a US Open final on Wednesday night looking like a man who has learned how to suffer – and how to close.
The French Open champion, dragged through five-set marathons in each of his first two rounds, has since slammed the door on any drama. Four matches, four straight-sets wins. Karen Khachanov was the latest to feel that new, hard edge, beaten 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6) as Zverev returned to the Flushing Meadows title match and moved within one victory of a second Grand Slam crown.
A different Zverev at Flushing Meadows
This is Zverev’s third consecutive Grand Slam final and his second in New York, four years after he let a two-set lead slip against Dominic Thiem in the 2020 decider. Back then, he looked raw, overwhelmed by the weight of the moment. Now he arrives with a 24-2 record in majors this season and the aura of a player who expects to be here.
He started like it, too. Zverev struck first, snapping into the match with a clean, controlled opening set. His serve, the barometer of his nerves so often in the past, hummed. He dictated with the first strike, pinned Khachanov behind the baseline, and took the opener 6-3 without allowing the Russian a foothold.
The pressure rolled straight into the second set. Zverev grabbed an early break and stretched his remarkable run of unbroken service games. Khachanov, unseeded but dangerous, looked in danger of being swept away.
Then he bit back.
Khachanov fights, Zverev holds his nerve
Khachanov finally cracked Zverev’s serve, snapping a streak of 37 consecutive service games held. That single break changed the feel of the night. The Russian began to swing more freely, found his depth, and started to push Zverev off his spots. Rallies lengthened. The crowd sensed a contest.
The second set surged into a tie-break, and that is where the match briefly threatened to flip. Khachanov pressed, forced Zverev into uncomfortable positions, and had the German scrambling to stay level. The breaker stretched to 14 tense minutes, both men trading heavy blows and nervy errors.
At the sharp end, Zverev blinked less.
Khachanov faltered at the wrong moments, a couple of loose points opening the door. Zverev stepped through it, edging the tie-break 9-7 and hammering home the difference between a player rediscovering his best and one still searching for a signature win on this stage.
Same story in the third, same winner at the end
The third set mirrored the second. Khachanov refused to go away, kept attacking second serves, and again forced the issue into a tie-break. For a moment, he looked ready to drag Zverev into a longer night, snatching a brief lead and asking the question: could the German’s composure hold?
It did. Again.
Zverev reeled him in, tightened his patterns, and leaned on that rebuilt serve under pressure. Once more, Khachanov’s level dipped just as Zverev’s rose. The German closed out the breaker 8-6, sealing his seventh win in 10 meetings against the Russian and walking off with a straight-sets victory that felt far tougher than the scoreline suggested.
No sets dropped since those early five-set scares. No panic in the tightest moments. Just a player who has turned survival mode into a platform for dominance.
One more step
Zverev now stands one match from a second major of the year and the biggest hard-court title of his career. Waiting for him will be the winner of the all-American semi-final between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, a clash that will light up Arthur Ashe Stadium on its own terms.
Whoever emerges, they will face a Zverev who has already played 26 Grand Slam matches this season and lost only twice. Four years after leaving New York with a runner-up’s regret, he returns to the same stage with a chance to rewrite his story – and this time, he looks ready to finish the job.
