Alexander Zverev had to battle for it, but the German fifth seed made it through to the final of the US Open to reach his first-ever Grand Slam final.
German fifth seed Alexander Zverev overcame a slow start to battle back and claim a hard-earned victory to punch his ticket to the tournament finale after defeating Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in his US Open semi-final in New York.
The match in the Big Apple took place on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that devastated the city, and the nation. Broadway singer Christopher Jackson also sang three songs in front of a Black Lives Matter display before the action got underway at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Zverev started terribly and looked to be on his way to a straight-sets defeat after committing a staggering 36 unforced errors in the first two sets.
It meant he had no room for error thereafter, and the German rose to the occasion to take the remaining three sets and claim a dramatic come-from-behind victory.
“I knew that I had to come up with better tennis and I knew that I had to be more stable … but I am through to my first Grand Slam final and that’s all that matters,” he said after the match.
Zverev is bidding to become Germany’s first men’s Grand Slam champion since Boris Becker won the 1996 Australian Open, and he’ll need to be at his best to reach that goal as he lines up against second seed Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final.
