German fifth seed Alexander Zverev secured a 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-3 US Open semi-final win over Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday. With the thrilling victory, he has reached his first Grand Slam final.
Zverev looked like he headed for a certain defeat. He committed 36 errors through the first two sets but used his game to pick himself up. His game only saw a high after a rogue backhand by Carreno Busta.
“I was actually looking at the scoreboard when I was down two sets to love and I was like ‘I can’t believe it, I am playing in the semi-final where I am supposed to be the favourite and I am down two sets to love,” said Zverev. “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.”
Things kept going Carreno Busta’s way in the second with his three consecutive breaks. However, Zverev flipped a switch and suddenly looked more confident. He broke Carreno Busta four times over the next two sets.
Zverev is bidding to become the first German Grand Slam champion since Boris Becker won the 1996 Australian Open. He will face either 2019 U.S. Open finalist Daniil Medvedev or second seed Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final.