German tennis star Alexander Zverev reached his first Grand Slam final, fighting back from a losing position to beat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, in a tense US Open five-setter.
Pablo Carreno Busta played very smart and precise tennis to race into a two-set lead against the fifth seed Zverev who seemed a little bit lost.
But Zverev, 23, showed incredible resolve to turn the match around and win 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-3 against the 20th seed.
He will then go on to play Austrian second seed, Dominic Thiem, in Sunday’s final.
Watch the match highlights below
Thiem also qualified for the final after beating Russian third seed, Daniil Medvedev, 6-2 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5) in Friday’s second semi-final at Flushing Meadows.
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The US Open final this year, happening on Sunday, 13 Srptember will see a new Grand Slam champion crowned for the first time since the 2014 US Open when Croatia’s Marin Cilic won.
Rafael Nadal who won it in 2019 and his arch-rival, Roger Federer, are absent from this year’s tournament, plus the expulsion of top seed Novak Djokovic for hitting a line judge with a ball, has given the chance for a new name to be etched onto a major trophy.
Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka, following his win at Flushing Meadows in 2016, was the last man outside of the ‘Big Three’ to win either the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, or the US Open.
The former world number three, Zverev, is now one win away from becoming this year’s champion but his chances looked slim earlier on after Carreno Busta started strongly.
But he put up a remarkable comeback in a semi-final, which was neither high-quality nor engrossing.
The German grinned incredulously as he waved his fists towards his box when Carreno Busta lamped a return into the net on the second match point.”I knew I had to come up with better tennis and be more stable,” says a relieved Zverev.
“I knew I had to play better, I’ve never come back from two sets to love but I’m happy to do it at this stage.
“I’m through to my first Grand Slam final and that’s all that matters.”
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