The top-seeded German prevailed 6-3, 7-6(9-7), 7-6(8-6) to secure his place in Sunday's championship match. Zverev saved himself from two closely contested tie-breaks and closed out the match in three sets.

The victory gives Zverev his third consecutive Grand Slam final appearance. He won his first major title at the French Open earlier this season before finishing runner-up to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon.

He has now reached the final at three successive Grand Slam tournaments.

Zverev's route to the final

Zverev's path to the final began with a five-set victory over Lorenzo Sonego. He then needed five sets again to defeat Quentin Halys in the second round. Since those two matches, however, he has not lost a set.

The 29-year-old subsequently defeated Alejandro Tabilo in the third round, Luciano Darderi in the fourth round and Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals. He completed the run to the final by overcoming Khachanov.

Zverev controlled the opening set against Khachanov, taking it 6-3. The Russian then pushed the German through a tight second set, but Zverev won the tie-break 9-7 after Khachanov had erased two set points.

The third set again went to a tie-break. Khachanov moved ahead 3-0 and later led 5-2, but Zverev recovered to level the score. He eventually secured the tie-break 8-6 to finish the match.

The result also marks Zverev's second US Open final. His previous appearance came in 2020, when he faced Dominic Thiem in the championship match. Zverev won the first two sets on that occasion but Thiem came back to win the title in a fifth-set tie-break.

The 2026 final will therefore give Zverev another opportunity to win the US Open title six years after his first appearance in the championship match.

Zverev entered this year's tournament as the No. 1 seed. His semi-final victory also continued a strong Grand Slam season in which he has won 24 of his 26 matches at the four major tournaments.

Khachanov, ranked 50th in the world entering the tournament, was attempting to reach his first Grand Slam final. The Russian had previously reached the US Open semi-finals in 2022 and the Australian Open semi-finals in 2023.

Zverev will face either eighth-seeded Ben Shelton or 11th-seeded Frances Tiafoe in Sunday's final. The second semi-final is scheduled for Friday. The German is seeking his second Grand Slam title of the season and the second major championship of his career.