ALEXANDER Zverev is riding high on confidence after coming from two sets down to defeat Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta in the semi-finals of the US Open. The win meant the German fifth seed surpassed his personal best appearance at a Grand Slam having reached the semi-final stage at Australian Open. Now the German locks horns with second seed, Dominic Thiem after the Austrian defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, but in far from a one-sided contest.

Zverev’s remarkable comeback against Carreno Busta became only the third player in 40 years to rally from 2-0 down to win at the US Open semi-finals stage. After three hours and 22 minutes – a relatively quick match for five sets – Zverev triumphed 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-3 to reach his first ever Grand Slam final.

“I’m through to my first Grand Slam final and that’s all that matters,” Zverev said post-match. “I knew I had to play better. I’d never come back from two sets to love. That was the first time in my career. But I’m happy to do it at this stage, in the semi-final of a Grand Slam. I couldn’t be happier, but there’s still one more step to go for me.”

Zverev’s inconsistency hurt him early, hitting 36 unforced errors in the first two sets to Carreno Busta’s 12, which gave the Spaniard an unlikely lead and one set away from a major final. Given the German had never come from two sets to love down, he knew the odds were stacked against him, and he had felt the pressure like never before.

“I was looking at the scoreboard when I was down two sets to love,” Zverev said. “I was like, ‘I cannot believe it. “I’m playing in a semi-final where I’m supposed to be the favourite and I’m down two sets to love and I have no chance, I’m playing that bad. “I knew that I had to come up with better tennis. I knew I had to be more stable.”

Then everything clicked for the power player, smasing 24 aces to make up for his eight double faults, and slammed home a whopping 71 wins, hitting only 25 unforced errors in the last three sets. By comparison, he rattled the unflappable Carreno Busta, who hit 32 unforced errors in that time, and only 37 winners for the game. Zverev’s dominance off his first serve – 78 per cent – and also his net approaches – 37 of 50 successes – had him controlling the play.

“I started taking the ball much earlier,” Zverev said. “I started taking the ball more on the rise. I started giving myself the chance to be the one that is aggressive. “I think in the first few sets, Pablo was the one dictating much more than I did. This is how the match slowly turned around.”

Now Zverev has to find a way to get it done against the consistent Thiem, who ended his run at the Australian Open in the semi-finals stage at Melbourne Park. Thiem showed he can fight, down in both the second and third sets against Medvedev, he just found a way to close out the semi-final in straight sets.

Battling an ankle injury and then facing set points in both the second and third sets, Thiem was able to win 6-2 7-6 7-6, including tiebreak victories of 9-7 and 7-5 to reach his fourth Grand Slam final, and his first US Open final. In the win, Thiem served at a terrific 79 per cent winning rate off his first serve, and 55 per cent off his second, whilst only conceding 33 unforced errors. Medvedev hit seven more winners (29-22) but 11 more unforced errors, and despite hitting 12 aces, could only win 41 per cent of his second serve points.

“I love these big matches,” Thiem said post-match. “To face the best guys in the world is what I do the hard work for at home and in the off-season. “After the first set, it was great tennis from both of us. I could have easily been down two-sets-to-one. I’m really happy to be through. It was a great semi-final.”

Medvedev will rue his chances to go ahead on multiple occasions, including serving for the second set in the 10th game, and then leading 6-5 and 7-6 in the tiebreak as Medvedev’s poor drop shot on set point saw Thiem hit a massive forehand winner. It was like deja vu in the third, with Medvedev serving for the set at 5-3, but tightened up and then Thiem took it from there to level the match and take it out in a second tiebreaker.

Thiem and Zverev have played nine times, with the Austrian holding a 7-2 advantage in the head-to-head, including the past three encounters. Thiem said he was not looking at past history and is excited to be playing one of his close friends.

“It’s all or nothing,” Thiem said. “It’s going to be a completely open match… I’m really looking forward to that. “We have such a great friendship and rivalry. “It’s amazing that we’re going to face each other in a Grand Slam final.”