Alexander Zverev reaches second US Open final after beating Karen Khachanov

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Alexander Zverev enjoyed his day in the sun as he beat Karen Khachanov in straight sets to reach the US Open final.

The German had played all his previous matches during the night sessions, existing in a perpetual loop of darkness and midnight finishes.

But Zverev’s semi-final against Khachanov was scheduled for the afternoon session on Arthur Ashe Stadium, and he came through 6-3 7-6 (7) 7-6 (6).

The 29-year-old has capitalised on the absence of Jannik Sinner and defeats for Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, as well as a kind draw, to reach a third consecutive grand slam final.

He spent a record total of 16 hours and 40 minutes on court en route to the last four – and took another three hours against Khachanov – having not faced a single player inside the top 20.

Nevertheless, having broken his major duck at the French Open before losing the Wimbledon final to Sinner, Zverev now has the chance for a second grand slam title.

He can also banish the memory of the 2020 final in New York, where he served for the match against Dominic Thiem but lost in five sets.

Khachanov, a former top-10 player now ranked 50, had blown his quarter of the draw wide open when he knocked out third seed Felix Augur-Aliassime in round two.

But a solitary break was all Zverev needed to pinch a tight first set from the Russian and when he broke again at start of the second, a routine afternoon looked on the cards.

However, a double fault allowed Khachanov back on serve and instead Zverev became embroiled in a tie-break, at one point trailing 5-3 and only winning it after a lung-busting 35-shot rally.

Zverev will play in his third consecutive grand dlam final (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) (AP)

The third set went the same way and Khachanov had set points at 6-4, but two wayward forehands and a Zverev ace gave him match point which he took at the first attempt.

Zverev said: “After the second round, at about 3am, we were laughing our asses off about how badly I was playing.

“Moving forward I was playing better tennis. Obviously I’ve been improving otherwise I wouldn’t be in the final. I’m enjoying it and I can’t wait for Sunday.”

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