1-seed Zverev reaches 3rd major final of 2026 at US Open — SkimNews
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- Alexander Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) in Friday's US Open semifinals, winning 13 consecutive sets after surviving back-to-back five-setters in the first two rounds
- Zverev faces the winner of the No. 8 Ben Shelton vs. No. 11 Frances Tiafoe semifinal, and enters that final with a 9-1 career record against Tiafoe and 5-0 against Shelton
- Zverev already won the French Open this year and lost the Wimbledon final to Jannik Sinner; a US Open title would make him the fourth man in the Open era to win his first two majors in the same calendar year, after Jimmy Connors (1974), Guillermo Vilas (1977) and Sinner (2024)
- Khachanov, ranked No. 50, was bidding to become the lowest-ranked US Open finalist since ATP rankings began in 1973 and led 3-0 and 5-2 in the third-set tiebreaker before Zverev rallied
- The United States is still seeking its first men's Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick won the 2003 US Open — and would need Shelton or Tiafoe to upset Zverev on Sunday to end that drought
- Zverev earned his 52nd tour-level match win of the season, the most on the men's tour, and has gone 24-2 in Grand Slam matches in 2026
Why it matters: Zverev is one win from joining an Open-era club of three (Connors, Vilas, Sinner) who've won their first two majors in the same calendar year — a feat that would also redeem his 2020 collapse at the same venue. The American drought now stretches 23 years, and Zverev is a combined 14-1 against the two Americans still alive, making Sunday's final heavily tilted toward the German regardless of opponent.
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