TORONTO – Russia’s 11th seed Karen Khachanov reached the National Bank Open Open Finals, lasting German top seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday night.
“Today was really close,” Kachanov said. “I was down match points. If the ball touched the net and we weren’t talking about it now.”
Khachanov, 29, who has won the seven-time ATP Tour, will face the winner of the second semi-finals of the nation between second seed Taylor Fritz and fourth seed Ben Shelton.
“I had to dig deeper and level up my level,” Kachanov said. “It was a very tough, very mental, very physical match. So I’m so happy to have won after losing something easy to him in recent years.”
Zverev, the 2017 champion with 24 tour titles, ranks third in the world. He was the top seeded with 2023 winner, Top Rank Giannik Sinner, and second Carlos Alcaraz, skipping the hard court tournament.