Zverev and Shelton Set Up US Open Final as Sabalenka and Rybakina Prepare for the Women's Title Match

The US Open men's draw resolved itself on Friday with two semifinals that could hardly have been more different in texture. Alexander Zverev handled Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6 7-6, a scoreline that flatters him only slightly: after taking the opening set with the day's cleanest tennis, he was dragged into two tiebreaks and won both, a reminder that his margins on a fast hard court are decided in a handful of points rather than long passages of play.

Ben Shelton took the harder road. Down a set to Frances Tiafoe after losing the opener 4-6, the left-hander recalibrated and produced three consecutive sets of increasingly assertive tennis, closing out 6-3 6-3 7-5 in an all-American semifinal that swung on his ability to hold serve under pressure late in the fourth. The final, then, pits Zverev's baseline structure against Shelton's more volatile, serve-driven aggression — a stylistic contrast that should define the match rather than any accumulation of ranking points.

Before that, however, Arthur Ashe Stadium hosts the women's final, and it is the one the seedings demanded: Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1, against Elena Rybakina, the world No. 2. There is no obvious refuge for either player here. Both hit through the court, both rely on first-strike patterns, and both have the serve to shorten rallies before the other can impose herself. On a surface that rewards precisely those qualities, the match may come down to second-serve exposure and who blinks first in the rallies that extend beyond six or seven strokes.

The Challenger circuit, meanwhile, kept turning. In Genova, Thiago Seyboth Wild was the most convincing of the quarterfinalists, beating Juan Pablo Varillas 6-1 7-6, while Pedro Martinez needed only 6-1 6-2 against Valerio Aboian. Laslo Djere survived a scrappy afternoon against Stefanos Sakellaridis 6-1 5-7 7-5, and Matej Dodig came through the day's longest examination, edging Enrico Dalla Valle 6-7 6-2 7-6.

Seville produced its own pattern of recoveries. Jaume Munar lost the opening set to Raul Brancaccio 2-6 and then conceded just two more games, winning 6-1 6-1, while Facundo Diaz Acosta was more linear in dispatching Sebastian Ofner 7-5 6-2. Dusan Lajovic beat Henrique Rocha 6-4 6-4 and Max Alcala Gurri outlasted Genaro Alberto Olivieri in three sets. In Tulln, Alex Barrena's 6-7 7-5 7-5 win over Zdenek Kolar was the most stubborn result of the day.

On the women's side, Claire Liu beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-2 6-4 and Anna Blinkova overcame Elsa Jacquemot 6-1 7-6 to set the Barranquilla final. Montreux delivered clean quarterfinals for Dalma Galfi (6-2 6-2 over Simona Waltert) and Fiona Ferro (6-4 6-0 against Lucie Havlickova), while Maristany G. recovered from a second-set collapse to beat Clara Burel 6-3 1-6 6-1.

Saturday's Challenger programme is dense. Seville offers the highest-ranked pairing of the lot, Munar (No. 55) against Diaz Acosta (No. 82); Genova sends Djere against Martinez (No. 148) and Seyboth Wild against Dodig; Cassis has Titouan Droguet (No. 103) facing Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (No. 149) and Mark Lajal meeting Daniel Masur. Add the Montreux semifinals — Noma Noha Akugue against Maristany G., Galfi against Ferro — plus Antalya, Tulln, Istanbul and Phan Thiet, where Max Purcell faces Ilia Simakin, and the depth of the day is clear.