Alexander Zverev should be feeling very little stress after finally winning his first major at the 2026 French Open. Should he win the US Open too, well, that's just gravy. He certainly wasn't going to let Karen Khachanov stand in his way in the semifinals.
Khachanov had played arguably the Grand Slam of his life in New York (the second time he had reached the semis at the event) and might have been a real threat to reach the final if he had faced anyone, but a few players, and one of those was Zverev.
With Jannik Sinner not playing at the US Open due to a knee injury and Carlos Alcaraz having lost in the quarterfinals, Zverev is the best player remaining.
Alexander Zverev defeats Karen Khachanov to reach the final of the 2026 US Open
Khachanov might have lost, but he didn't give up without a fight. He hit with power and precision, though he lacks the creativity that Zverev does, and that says a lot. The German is known for his robotic type of play, but he can adapt and adjust most of the time. Khachanov needed to win one way, and that was to overpower Zverev while playing the angles.
In the first set, Zverev won 87 percent of his first serves and didn't face a break point. He played efficiently with nine winners and six unforced errors. He took advantage of the only break point that either player had, when he broke the Russian at 4-3. That is what great players do: In the most important moments of a match, they raise their level.
In the second set, Zverev got a break in the first game and was trending toward reaching a third and likely final set easily. However, in the fourth game, Khachanov came through with a break. He nearly got another, leading 3-2, but the German held. That felt like it could have been the last best hope for Khachanov to change the narrative of the match.
In the second set tie-break, though, he had a 5-3 advantage, and then hit a backhand into the net for an unforced error to get the breaker back on serve. With Zverev hitting a second serve at 5-all, Khachanov hit another unforced error with a forehand into the net. He wasn't taking advantage of his opportunities yet, and he was running out of time to do so. Zverev would take the tie-break 9-7.
As well as Khachanov was playing, what he seems incapable of is consistently pushing the angles. He is more content with trying to strike with force in the middle of the court. That won't beat the best players.
The third set saw each player hold serve, mostly easily, and in the tie-break, Khachanov once again had a chance to set the match into at least a fourth set. The Russian led 5-2, but Zverev came back to take a lead 7-6. With Khachanov trying to extend the breaker, he hit a forehand long, and Zverev took the third set in a tie-break, 8-6.
Alexander Zverev will next play the winner of the other US Open semifinal match between Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton. An American will be in the final either way. Beating Zverev and keeping him from his second career Grand Slam title might be a different issue altogether.
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