Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton advance to US Open final with semifinal victories

Zverev closes out Khachanov in straight sets

Top seed Alexander Zverev secured a place in the US Open final on Friday, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) in a match lasting nearly three hours. The German player leaned on his first serve, recording 15 aces and winning 56 of 71 first-serve points (79%) while receiving a time-violation warning for bouncing the ball more than 20 times before serving. Khachanov, ranked 50th in the world, challenged Zverev in both tiebreaks, establishing a 5-3 lead in the second set and holding two set points from a 4-0 opening lead in the third. Zverev erased both set points before converting on his first match point. The victory sends the 29-year-old into his third consecutive Grand Slam final of 2026, following his title at Roland Garros in June and a runner-up finish at Wimbledon.

Zverev reflected on his ambition and recent results after the win:

Winning a Grand Slam was the ultimate goal, but now we want more. We want to achieve bigger things. We keep working very hard for that.

Shelton outlasts Tiafoe in four sets

In the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Ben Shelton recovered from losing the opening set to eliminate fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. The contest spanned three hours and 15 minutes, with Shelton generating 47 winners and hitting 20 aces, including one serve measured at 240 kilometres per hour. Tiafoe remained competitive across four sets before conceding the final game on a double fault. Shelton, aged 23, had advanced to the semifinals by eliminating Carlos Alcaraz in four sets after the Spaniard returned from a four-and-a-half-month injury absence. The victory marks Shelton's first progression to a Grand Slam final following his semifinal exit at Flushing Meadows three years earlier.

Shelton evaluated his development following the semifinal victory:

Now I am a more mature player, more focused, I know what my goals are and I am going after them.

Sunday matchup and tournament stakes

Sunday's final pits Zverev against Shelton, with the German holding a 5-0 record in their five previous head-to-head encounters. Shelton carries the opportunity to end a 23-year title drought in men's singles for the United States, which last saw an American man win a Grand Slam tournament when Andy Roddick lifted the US Open trophy in 2003. For Zverev, the final offers a return to the championship match in New York six years after his five-set loss to Dominic Thiem in 2020, played behind closed doors. With world number one Jannik Sinner missing the tournament due to injury, Zverev enters the final with a chance to secure a second Grand Slam trophy in 2026.

Zverev addressed the prospect of facing a home favourite in front of a capacity New York crowd:

It will be a fantastic feeling to play a final in a sold-out Arthur Ashe and not in an empty one.