NEW YORK, Sept 12, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Alexander Zverev recovered from two
sets down to defeat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in a scrappy encounter and
reach the US Open final on Friday.
The German fifth seed beat the 20th seed 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in 3hr
23min inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up his first ever Grand Slam final.
He will play either second seed Dominic Thiem or third seed Daniil
Medvedev in Sunday’s showpiece.
It marked the first time in the 23-year-old Zverev’s career that he came
from two sets down to win.
“I actually looked at the scoreboard when I was down two sets to love,”
Zverev said.
“I was like, ‘I can’t believe it. I’m playing in a semi-final, I’m
supposed to be the favorite and I have no chance, I’m playing that bad.
“So I knew I had to come up with better tennis and I knew that I had to be
more stable.”
Zverev made 36 unforced errors in the first two sets compared to just 12
for Carreno Busta as the nerves of the occasion seemed to get the better of
him.
Double fault followed double fault and a string of misplaced, nervy
forehands allowed Carreno Busta to build a sizable lead.
But Zverev began to seriously cut down on his mistakes in the third set,
upping his service game and taking control of rallies with more powerful,
accurate groundstrokes.
It continued to be a nervy, error-strewn affair, though, with both players
appearing overwhelmed at times with coming so close to reaching their first
tennis major final.
Zverev hit eight double faults overall to Carreno Busta’s one. Zverev
recorded 57 unforced errors to 44 for Carreno Busta. But the tall German
smashed way more winners, 71 to 37.
“I’m through to my first Grand Slam final and that’s all that matters,”
Zverev said.
“I couldn’t be happier, but there’s still one more step to go for me,” he
added.
Zverev had reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open
this year.
He now becomes the first German man to reach the final of a tennis major
since Rainer Schuttler at the 2003 Australian Open.
This year’s US Open field has been depleted by the absence of Roger
Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The tournament was blown wide open by the disqualification of world number
one and heavy favourite Novak Djokovic in the last 16 for hitting a line
judge with the ball.
It means Sunday’s final will see a first-time Grand Slam champion for the
first time since Croatian Marin Cilic won at Flushing Meadows in 2014.
It also means there will be a Grand Slam champion other than Djokovic,
Nadal or Federer for the first time since Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka won the
third of his tennis majors at the US Open in 2016.