Alexander Zverev Reaches U.S. Open Final, His First in a Grand Slam

Bad and baffled during the first two sets, Alexander Zverev still found a way to reach his first Grand Slam final.

In a remarkable turnaround, Zverev, the No. 7 seed, came back to defeat Pablo Carreño Busta 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals of the United States Open on Friday.

It was the first time in Zverev’s relatively short career that he had won a match after losing the first two sets. But what mattered most to Zverev was taking one more giant step toward a major title.

He has long been pegged for tennis greatness with his potent blend of power, reach and athleticism. Though he is only 23, it is taking longer than he expected, but the door has been flung wide open to change at this U.S. Open.

It was an unusual event to begin with: staged in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic with no fans in the stands and players forbidden from traveling to their usual playgrounds in Manhattan from the tournament site in Queens. It also began without Roger Federer and the reigning champion Rafael Nadal, two of the three men who have dominated the men’s game for the last 16 years.

The third is Djokovic, and though he did make the trip to New York, he knocked himself out of the tournament in the fourth round against Carreño Busta when he struck a ball in frustration and inadvertently hit a line judge in the throat. He was defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct, which guaranteed that someone would win their first Grand Slam singles title.

It could still be Zverev, who will face either No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem or No. 3 Daniil Medvedev on Sunday. Thiem and Medvedev were to face off in Friday’s second semifinal.