"I believe that it's possible. I think not many of you guys did" - Alexander Zverev one win away from trumping Alcaraz and Sinner major count in 2026

If you were going to go back in time and say that Alexander Zverev's semi-final run at the Australian Open would be his worst major run of the year, not many people would have believed you. That is testament to the quality of tennis the 29-year-old has produced this year, the latest coming in a 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) triumph over Karen Khachanov to seal his spot in the US Open final.

After striking late in the first set, Zverev really found his groove and broke at the start of the second. His Russian opponent kept tabs with him before the first tiebreak of the match occurred. Zverev needed three bites at the cherry to see it out ahead of another one that Khachanov would want to forget. Two set points to prolong the contest wasted as his improved run in New York came to an end at the hands of the No.1 seed.

Three from three sets tells anything but the story, as Zverev explained in his press conference. "Straight-sets win, but anything but straightforward in a way," he said. "He played incredibly well, fought incredibly well. The second and third sets, I think it's more than obvious that they could have gone both ways. And I just played a few points better here and there. And I'm happy with the win."

Zverev's Grand Slam burden has since been lifted from his shoulders following his triumph at Roland Garros, but the 2020 near miss at Flushing Meadows was a truly hard one to swallow. Zverev led two sets and had the chance to serve it out against Dominic Thiem, but the Austrian stayed firm and managed to pull off an incredible turnaround.

However, the damage from that fateful day has subsided since breaking new ground in the French capital. "It did until I won in Paris," he stated. "I think there were question marks, there were doubts whether I was ever going to win one, for sure. I talked about it quite openly before, but now that I've won one, it's OK."

A similarity from both the 2020 and 2026 edition in New York was Zverev's slow start. Nevertheless, he has corrected that this time round following two five-set battles in his opening two matches and has not dropped a set since.

"I feel like when I made the final here in 2020, I didn't play well, but I didn't play well the entire tournament," Zverev detailed. "That never changed, funny enough. And I made it to the final and I was two points away from winning.

"But I think the improvement has been quite dramatic for me. And it's a great thing because I really started off the tournament and I was like, "Well, this is pointless because I'm not going to do anything here. And here I am, sitting and preparing for a Sunday final. So things like that can happen in sports and tennis in general. Things can change very quickly, for the positive or negative. And for me, luckily, it was for the positive. And now I'm going to do everything I can to prepare for Sunday."

Following the loss, Khachanov came out and spoke his displeasure over the ball bouncing from his German opponent. Zverev is someone who tends to bounce the ball numerous times instead of the usual two, three, four times most players do.

A stat caught his eye stating that he had completed over 12,000 ball bounces at this US Open alone, and it would have increased after his latest contest. He most certainly saw the funny side. "I have no idea why. I'm not doing it on purpose. I just saw the stat, like a bounce of 12,000 times or something like that. That's quite funny," he commented.

"I mean, no, I'm not counting in my head. I'm not getting to a certain number or anything like that. I don't know why it increased so much. I think today it decreased again because I saw it before the semi-final, so I was like, 'OK, it's got to go less.' But then I forget about it every once in a while and it goes up to I don't know what number it is."

Zverev did not know who his opponent for the final would be at that specific time. It would turn out to be Ben Shelton, who came back from a set deficit, to down Frances Tiafoe to confirm a maiden Grand Slam final.

One thing for certain heading into that ultimate contest is whoever he was playing, Zverev would be second favourite in the crowd's eyes. This has not put him off one bit with his years of experience set to be tested. It is not something new to him.

"I enjoy these kind of atmospheres. I've said it before. I mean, I played a lot of French guys in France. I think the most hostile crowd, if you call it that, is when you're playing a French guy in Paris-Bercy. Back in the day, that was quite intense. And I always enjoyed those. I always enjoyed those kind of atmospheres.

"Of course, I played Australian guys in Australia. I played Arthur Fery now in Wimbledon. The Wimbledon crowd is a bit different, though. I mean, there's no question about that. But for me, a loud and energetic crowd is always great, as long as they're fair and as long as they don't interrupt in the middle of points. So I always enjoy these kind of atmospheres."

If he wants a preview of what it will be like, only watching a few clips from the contrasting reactions between Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina on Arthur Ashe Stadium will give him and tennis fans an idea on what it will be like as Shelton looks to be the first American to win an ATP singles Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick 23 years ago.

"I don't care," Zverev reiterated. "As I said, I've been playing in stadiums for over 10 years that are sometimes against me. Because we have big tournaments in different countries that are not called Germany. That's why I'm used to it. I like such atmospheres too. And I'm going to enjoy it somehow and hopefully be successful."

Confidence is something that Zverev certainly does not lack. He has been at the top end of tennis for the best part of a decade now, challenging for the biggest prizes while also winning a number of them too. However, he has always been overshadowed. The 'Big Three' when he emerged onto the scene, which had since been swapped for Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who had sprinted away from the chasing pack, which included Zverev.

Despite this, it is fair to say that Zverev's campaign this year has been stunning. If he wins on Sunday, he would have won more major titles than his two rivals in 2026, something that very few people would have seen coming. Aside from Zverev.

"I thought it was possible. I believed in it. I believe that it's possible," he said. "I think not many of you guys did. I think the question was always, 'Are Carlos and Jannik going to play all four Grand Slam finals between each other again?' Yeah, of course, a very legitimate question, which was how the last two years went. I mean, I'm happy with how this year went so far. But I've got another big match on Sunday. And that's my focus."

Zverev has reached the final of the last three Grand Slam tournaments and could have made it a clean sweep if he was able to complete the comeback against Alcaraz in Melbourne. Down two sets, he battled back and even had the chance to serve it out before the Spaniard found another gear. The fact that the semi-final exit in Australia is his worst Grand Slam result of the year deserves recognition for how consistent he has been at the top level.

"I believe in the work we've done. Sometimes it's just so easy. And I don't know. I don't think about it that way. I just understood in the dressing room that I was one opening game away from playing in all four Grand Slam finals. That's a bit bitter. But otherwise it's relatively OK this year. But of course, on Sunday it's a huge match. And that's what I'm focusing on,"