Six years ago, German tennis player Alexander Zverev played his first Grand Slam final. At the US Open final, he was leading 2-0 in sets against Dominic Thiem, and was close to winning the title, but fell short, losing 3-2.
After that, the German didn't have the chance to play in a Grand Slam final until last year. Then in January 2025, he got a chance to fight for the title at the Australian Open, but Janik Siner was too strong.
It seemed all these years that Zverev would be left without a trophy at major tournaments, but this season, finally, everything changed - the German celebrated at Roland Garros and won his first Grand Slam title. Then he reached the Wimbledon final (losing to Siner), and then last night he qualified for the US Open final, defeating Karen Khachanov in the semifinals (3:0). Six years after his first Grand Slam final, Zverev has a chance to win a trophy in New York.
"After the second round, I was sitting in the locker room with my team and we were laughing our heads off because of how badly I played. That sense of humor helped me. The next day in practice, I felt the ball much better. I played much better tennis in the rest of the tournament. It's obvious that I played much better, because otherwise I wouldn't have been in the US Open final," Zverev said after the match.
The German has a chance to win his second Grand Slam of the season.
"Honestly, when the tournament started, I thought it was pointless to expect anything here. And now I'm in the final and preparing for the match on Sunday. These things happen in sports and tennis. From negative to positive and vice versa. For me it was very positive," explained Zverev, who will play Ben Shelton in the final (Sunday, 20 p.m.).
The German tennis player also recalled his duel against Dominic Thiem six years ago in the New York final.
"A lot of things have changed, I've played a lot of big matches. It was my first Grand Slam final. I wasn't experienced. Everything is different now. I'll enjoy the final, it'll be a great atmosphere. Unlike the first one when the stands were empty, now they'll be full."
Zverev took a big burden off his shoulders in Paris, winning the first major trophy of his career, but he points out that not much has changed.
"Honestly, not much has changed, although winning a Grand Slam title was the ultimate goal. This year I have more finals than Siner and Alcaraz, although none of you believed it. You just wondered how they would divide them. It was logical after the previous two years. I'm glad that things turned in my favor," Zverev concluded.
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