Top seed Zverev holds off Khachanov to reach US Open final

Alexander Zverev, the top-ranked seed, triumphed over Russian Karen Khachanov in a grueling three-set match at the US Open, advancing to his third consecutive Grand Slam final. The German star saved two set points in the decisive tiebreaker to secure a 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6) victory. Zverev, who won his first major title at the French Open and finished as runner-up at Wimbledon, will face the winner of the US Open semi-final between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe in the championship match on Sunday.

A win for Zverev would end a 23-year title drought for American men in Grand Slam singles, following Andy Roddick's victory in 2003. Zverev had previously reached the US Open final in 2020, where he lost to Dominic Thiem in a five-set thriller. Khachanov, ranked 50th, suffered his first Grand Slam final defeat, falling 3-7 to Zverev, who also beat him in the Tokyo Olympic final.

In a closely contested match, Zverev held serve to open the second set, while Khachanov's backhand long shots and unforced errors saw him break once in the set. However, Zverev double-faulted to gift Khachanov a break at 2-2, and the German capitalized on a backhand wide from the Russian to win the second set. In the third set, both players held their nerve, with Zverev sealing the match with his final ace after two hours and 58 minutes of tennis.