Who will take the title?

US Open: In the final for the first time—now Zverev awaits!

Ben Shelton is in the US Open final(Bild: AFP/CHARLY TRIBALLEAU)

Ben Shelton is in his first Grand Slam final! The local hero will now face Germany’s tennis star Alexander Zverev in the US Open final.

The 23-year-old prevailed in the all-American semifinal against his compatriot Frances Tiafoe, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and 7-5. Shelton had defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in an exhilarating five-set quarterfinal match.

Zverev defeats Khachanov
Now he’ll face Alexander Zverev. This marks Zverev’s third consecutive Grand Slam final appearance this season. The top-seeded German advanced to the U.S. Open final on Friday with a 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) victory over Russia’s Karen Khachanov and will compete on Sunday for his second career Grand Slam title, following his victory at this year’s French Open.

The world No. 2, who lost to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, remained focused at Arthur Ashe Stadium in his match against the world No. 50 and delivered when it mattered most. In the first set, a break proved decisive; the subsequent sets were each decided in a tiebreak. In each tiebreak, the favorite staged a great comeback. In the second set, he came back from a 3-5 deficit and then converted his second set point. In the third set, after falling behind 0-3, he was down 4-6 and had to fend off two set points before converting his very first match point to win 8-6. The match had lasted nearly three hours by then.

Zverev wants to do better in the New York final than he did in his 2020 debut, when he lost in five sets to Dominic Thiem of Lower Austria. Should the 29-year-old win and secure the $5.5 million check, he would be the first German since Boris Becker in 1989 to claim the US Open men’s singles title. The six-time Grand Slam finalist has already set other records. No German has ever reached two US Open finals, and competing in three consecutive major finals is also an unprecedented feat in his country.

“Something Special”
“I’m incredibly happy that I won. Reaching my third Grand Slam final this year is definitely something special,” said Zverev. He noted that he’d had to endure a lot at the major level in recent years. “I’ve been so close so many times; now it seems like this is my year. Sometimes things just fall into place,” said the German. He can hardly wait to take the court on Sunday. “It’s going to be incredibly special; hopefully I can make sure the American dream doesn’t come true.”

2nd Major Title of the Season for Siniakova/Townsend
He defeated Khachanov for the seventh time in their tenth head-to-head match; he had also secured the gold medal against him in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic final. The top-seeded pair of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend (CZE/USA) clinched the women’s doubles title with a 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 victory over the American duo of Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery. The duo had also won the French Open earlier this year.