Alexander Zverev reaches US Open final after victory over Karen Hačanov
Alexander Zverev advanced to the 2026 US Open final after defeating Karen Hačanov 6:3, 7:6(7), 7:6(6) on Friday, September 11, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. The tournament's top seed wrapped up the semifinal in three sets, although the score does not show how evenly matched the second and third sets were. After a more one-sided start, Hačanov raised his level of play, but Zverev remained calmer on the crucial points in both tie-breaks and secured his second final at Flushing Meadows. The German thereby reached his third consecutive Grand Slam final in 2026, following his title at Roland Garros and his loss to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final.
For the 29-year-old Zverev, Sunday's final, scheduled for September 13, will be the sixth Grand Slam final of his career. According to the US Open schedule and results, he will play for the title against the winner of the other semifinal between Americans Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, which, when his match ended, had yet to produce the second finalist. Zverev has thus returned to the championship match of the New York Grand Slam for the first time since 2020, when he surrendered a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem and eventually lost in the deciding tie-break of the fifth set. Six years later, he arrives in New York as the Roland Garros champion and as a player who has demonstrated consistency at the biggest tournaments throughout the season.
Zverev took the first set, Hačanov increased the resistance
The semifinal began at a pace that suited Zverev better. Hačanov ended too many points with errors in the first set, while the German managed to keep his serve under control and wait for the right moment to attack his opponent's delivery. The key break came late in the set, after which the top seed closed out the set 6:3 without major difficulties. Match reports state that Zverev was steadier in the rallies and that Hačanov struggled early in the match to find the balance between aggression and control, allowing the German to take an early lead on the scoreboard.
The second set offered a completely different picture. Zverev immediately broke Hačanov's serve, but the Russian quickly recovered, drew level and gradually established a much more even contest. Both players relied on powerful serves and baseline strokes, so after the break was recovered there was no significant separation on the scoreboard. The set went to a tie-break, in which pressure and short runs of good points alternated. Zverev eventually won the extra game 9:7 and took a 2:0 lead in sets, putting Hačanov in a situation where he no longer had any room for error.
The third set continued in a similar tone. Hačanov maintained a sufficiently high level on serve and from the baseline to prevent Zverev from pulling away early, while the German player did not force risky solutions when there was no need for them. Once again, there was not enough difference for the set to be decided before 6:6. In the second tie-break of the evening, Hačanov went ahead 6:4 and reached two set points, but Zverev responded with four consecutive points and won it 8:6. The final score of 6:3, 7:6(7), 7:6(6) therefore produced a straight-sets victory, but also confirmed that after the opening set the semifinal had turned into a match of fine margins.
Third consecutive Grand Slam final of the season
Reaching the US Open final further confirms just how strong Zverev's 2026 has been in terms of results on the biggest stage. At the Australian Open he reached the semifinal, where Carlos Alcaraz defeated him after five hours and 27 minutes of play, 6:4, 7:6(5), 6:7(3), 6:7(4), 7:5. The official Australian Open website described that match as the longest semifinal in tournament history. Zverev then took the step in Paris that had eluded him for years and won the first Grand Slam title of his career.
In the Roland Garros final on June 7, he defeated Flavio Cobolli 6:1, 4:6, 6:4, 6:7(5), 6:1. According to official data from the Paris tournament, Zverev thereby became the first German to win the men's singles title at Roland Garros in the Open era and the first German male tennis player to win a Grand Slam title since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open. That achievement carried additional weight because Zverev had previously lost the first three Grand Slam finals of his career: the 2020 US Open, 2024 Roland Garros and 2025 Australian Open. In Paris, he finally ended that run and entered the second half of the season without the burden of the question of when he would win his first major title.
He carried the momentum onto the grass at Wimbledon as well. In his first final at the London Grand Slam, he lost to Jannik Sinner 6:7(7), 7:6(2), 6:3, 6:4, according to the official ATP Tour report. Although he failed to put together two consecutive Grand Slam titles, reaching the final showed that his ambitions were not limited to one surface. New York is now the third consecutive Grand Slam at which he has reached the final match, and the US Open also notes that Zverev this season became only the ninth man in the Open era to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year.
From five sets at the start of the tournament to complete control in the closing stages
Zverev's path through New York did not begin convincingly. In the first round against Lorenzo Sonego, he needed five sets to win 6:4, 3:6, 6:7(7), 7:5, 6:4, and then in the second round against Quentin Halys he again spent five sets on court before winning 6:4, 4:6, 7:6(3), 6:7(3), 6:3. The official US Open website states that he spent more than nine hours on court in those two matches alone, raising questions in the early stages of the tournament about how such a physical expenditure would affect the second week.
From the third round onward, the picture changed completely. Zverev first defeated Alejandro Tabilo 6:2, 7:6(2), 6:2, then Luciano Darderi 6:2, 6:2, 7:6(3), and in the quarterfinals Botic van de Zandschulp 6:2, 7:5, 6:1. In all three matches he completed the job without dropping a set and gradually reduced the amount of time spent on court. By defeating Hačanov, he extended that streak to four consecutive matches without losing a set. The Associated Press states that after his problematic start to the tournament he won 13 consecutive sets, including the deciding fifth set of the second round against Halys.
That turnaround is also important because of the way Zverev constructs his game. When his first serve gives him enough free or short points, he can establish a more aggressive position on the baseline and use his two-handed backhand as a shot with which he changes direction without taking excessive risk. Against Hačanov, he did not need to constantly search for breaks; instead, he accepted the fact that the second and third sets would probably be decided by only a few points. It was precisely in those moments that his greater experience in the closing stages of Grand Slam tournaments came to the fore.
Hačanov left without his first Grand Slam final
For Karen Hačanov, the defeat means that he failed to take the final step toward the final in the third Grand Slam semifinal of his career. Before this year's US Open, he had been among the final four at the same tournament in 2022 and at the 2023 Australian Open. He arrived in New York this year without seeded status and as a player who, according to the US Open, was ranked 50th in the world before the tournament, but over the course of the two weeks he achieved several results that significantly changed the picture of his season.
Particularly notable was his second-round victory over third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, while in the round of 16 he also defeated 14th seed Learner Tien in five sets. In the quarterfinals, he advanced past Alexander Blockx after the Belgian retired in the third set with Hačanov leading 6:2, 7:5, 3:2. The official US Open report emphasizes that Hačanov spent noticeably less time on court than Zverev on his way to the semifinal, partly because of the earlier conclusion of the quarterfinal. Nevertheless, in the semifinal he was unable to capitalize on his physical freshness against an opponent who was more precise at the decisive moments.
Their head-to-head record before the semifinal was 6:3 in Zverev's favor, and the victory in New York increased his advantage to 7:3. In its preview of the match, the US Open noted that eight of their first nine meetings had been played on hard courts and that all three of Hačanov's victories had come on hard courts. His most recent major victory over Zverev came in Toronto in 2025, where he defeated him in the Masters semifinal. The New York meeting nevertheless confirmed that head-to-head history is not enough when a match comes down to the closing stages of sets and a handful of points under the greatest pressure.
Return to the site of his greatest Grand Slam disappointment
Zverev's new US Open final inevitably brings attention back to 2020. Back then, in his first Grand Slam final, he took a 2:0 lead in sets against Dominic Thiem, also held a break advantage in the third set, and served for the match in the fifth. In its review of Zverev's path to his first Grand Slam title, the official US Open website recalls that the German was only two points away from the trophy in the deciding tie-break, but Thiem turned the match around and won the title.
Since then, Zverev has returned several times to the closing stages of the biggest tournaments, along with a series of difficult defeats and the serious ankle injury suffered in the 2022 Roland Garros semifinal. In the 2024 Roland Garros final, he led Alcaraz 2:1 in sets before losing in five, while in the 2025 Australian Open final Sinner defeated him in straight sets. The Paris title in 2026 changed the context of his career: Zverev no longer arrives in a major final as a player still trying to prove that he can win a Grand Slam, but as the reigning champion of one of the four biggest tournaments.
For that reason, the psychological picture ahead of the new final in New York is also significantly different from six years ago. Zverev now has the experience of winning a major final, but also the fresh experience of losing the Wimbledon final. According to Associated Press data, after his victory over Hačanov his record at Grand Slam tournaments in 2026 stands at 24 wins and only two losses. One came against Alcaraz in the Australian Open semifinal, the other against Sinner in the Wimbledon final. On Sunday, he will have the opportunity to turn a season of exceptional consistency into a year with two Grand Slam titles.
Final against an American representative
The other finalist will come from the all-American semifinal between Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. Both had previously reached the US Open semifinals, but neither had played in a Grand Slam final before this tournament. Shelton eliminated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the quarterfinals, while Tiafoe came back from 0:2 down in sets against Alex Michelsen in his quarterfinal. The winner of their match will therefore have the opportunity to end the long drought without an American men's Grand Slam champion, which has lasted since Andy Roddick's US Open title in 2003.
For Zverev, it will also mean a final in front of a crowd that will largely be on the side of the home player. But his path this year suggests that such an atmosphere will not be an unfamiliar challenge: he came through two exhausting five-set matches, then completely stabilized his form and has not lost a set in his last four appearances. The final will simultaneously be an opportunity for the second Grand Slam title of his career and for the symbolic closing of the circle at the stadium where he suffered one of the most difficult defeats of his career in 2020.
Regardless of the identity of his opponent, Zverev enters the final match with clear results confirming that 2026 is the most consistent Grand Slam season of his career. An Australian Open semifinal, the Roland Garros title, the Wimbledon final and the US Open final form a sequence that only he has managed to build this year. The victory over Hačanov was not spectacular because of major comebacks, but because of his control in the moments when the sets were being decided. It is precisely that ability to refocus on the most important points that will be tested once again on Sunday, when Zverev will try to win his first US Open title and his second Grand Slam trophy of 2026.
Sources:
- US Open – official preview of the Zverev – Hačanov semifinal, head-to-head record, seeded status and seasonal context (link)
- US Open – official report on Zverev's quarterfinal and path through the tournament (link)
- US Open – official report on Hačanov's quarterfinal and his path to the semifinal (link)
- The Guardian – report and chronology of the Zverev – Hačanov semifinal, including the key points in the tie-breaks (link)
- NBC Sports / Associated Press – report on Zverev's semifinal victory over Hačanov and advancement to the final (link)
- Australian Open – official report on the Zverev – Alcaraz semifinal at the 2026 Australian Open (link)
- Roland-Garros – official report on Zverev winning his first Grand Slam title in Paris in 2026 (link)
- ATP Tour – official report on the 2026 Wimbledon final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev (link)