Ben Shelton will try to end a 23-year-American title drought at the US Open on Sunday as he plays for the trophy against Alexander Zverev.

Shelton could become the first local since Andy Roddick in 2003 to lift the title after defeating compatriot Frances Tiafoe in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 comeback in their semi-final. Shelton now takes a 0-5 record into the final with world No. 2 Zverev.

The German ran over Karen Khachanov in their Friday semi  6-3, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (6) to reach his third Grand Slam title match this season after winning Roland Garros and finishing runner-up at Wimbledon.

The ninth-ranked Shelton goes into the final a threatening underdog. “I’m going to need you guys on Sunday,” he told the semi-final crowd  “I’m going for it here. I’m going to leave it all on the court. I hope you guys come back me.”

Zverev has experience from five previous finals at the majors while Shelton will be playing at this level for the first time after semis here in 2022 and Australian last season,

Shelton lost the opening set against Tiafoe but then began to impose his game.

“I was honestly shocked with how calm I was out there today, especially towards the end of the match,” the winner said.

“Calm, confident, focused. I think that that’s what it takes to be in these positions and win at the highest level. It’s so much mental, kind of an interesting feeling. 

“I felt a lot more methodical with how I went  about it, how focused I was, finishing the job the way I did and being able to move on to the next and look forward to the finals.”

Shelton took victory with a break in the final game of the match, finishing with 20 aces among 47 winners.

“This whole tournament now at this point has been unchartered territory. I’m in positions I’ve never been in before. I’ve beaten guys that I have never beaten before. 

“I’m just excited to put it all out on the line.”

Shelton will play his fifth final of the season, with trophies in Dallas, Munich, Stuttgart and Montreal. He is the youngest American US Open men’s finalist (age 23) since Roddick, who was 21.

Main photo:- Ben Shelton winning Semi-final -by ATPTour.com

Alexander Zverev made a return to the semi-finals of the US Open half a decade after his last appearance as the top seed attempts to win his second Grand Slam title of the season. 

The winner of the Roland Garros trophy three months ago, earned his spot in the final four in New York 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 over  Botic Van De Zandschulp.

The German top seed was a semi-finalist here in 2021 after losing a tight 2020 final to Dominic Thiem. 

Zverev will face Karen Khachanov, who defeated Alexander Blockx 6-2, 7-5, 3-2 as the Belgian retired injured with a rib problem which had required several medical timeouts during play in their quarter-final.

“I was still feeling my rib a lot (from his previous match),” Blockx said. “I was still feeling my leg. Then in the second set, I blocked a nerve in my back, which was even worse to move. 

“I was just waiting for him to break me, you never know what’s going to happen. I didn’t want to risk to make anything worse than it was already.”

Zverev increased his lead in match wins on the Tour in 2026 as he claimed his 51st by reaching the 13th Grand Slam semi-final of his career, still well behind the 55 of Novak Djokovic.

“The more often you get to that stage, the more normal it becomes, which is
something that you should never take for granted,” the winner said after his two-and-a-quarter victory.

“I don’t take it for granted at all. I know it can change in a heartbeat in tennis. Confidence is something that is incredibly important but also can go away quite quickly,”

He added: “I found that out after Wimbledon (final against Jannik Sinner) where I didn’t play well throughout the two tournaments (Montreal, Cincinnati) on the hard courts – but  found it again here.

“Of  course I’m happy with how things are going, but looking forward, I still hope to play two good matches here.”

Zverev broke six of nine times while never losing his serve against his Dutch opponent.

Former finalist Casper Ruud made a last-minute pull out on Sunday as the US Open began, with the Norwegian still affected by the back injury which forced his retirement only days ago in Cincinnati.

The runner-up four years ago to Carlos Alcaraz has been carrying the problems for several weeks and pulled the plug on his participation on opening day of the season;s final major.

Ruud becomes the 20th player to withdraw,, a list led by world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who is dealing with a knee injury and who has not played since winning Wimbledon in July.

Ruud was due to start in New York against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, whom he defeated last month in Montreal.

Ruud now faces a rush to fitness if he is to compete at the Laver Cup in London from  September 25.