Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov Expert Tips and Best Bets | September 11

The men’s semi-finals of the 2026 US Open, and unlike on the women’s side where the top four seeds made up the final four players, it’s a real mixed bag on the men’s side. Number one seed Alexander Zverev kicks things off against the unseeded Karen Khachanov, while after that it’s an exciting all-American matchup between Ben Shelton (8) and Frances Tiafoe (11), meaning a local is guaranteed a spot in the final. Take a look at our best bets for a massive day of Grand Slam tennis below.

Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov: Khachanov to win at least one set | $1.57 with Betista

Incredibly, five matches into the tournament for each of these players, neither of them has had to face a player seeded inside the top 14. The 14th seeded Learner Tien was Khachanov’s toughest opponent and he downed him in five sets, while Zverev hasn’t even had to face a player ranked inside the top 20. Despite that he hasn’t had it all his own way; his last three wins have been dominant, but in both rounds 1 and 2 he was forced to five set to knock off unseeded players and just got over the line in both of them. Khachanov, while also unseeded, will pose more of a threat. In fact, he has already done so against the number one seed in the past, beating him three times in their last seven matches – far more than expected given their respective rankings. With both of these boys standing at 6’6” this will be a game of power with plenty of big serves, and it won’t prove easy for either of them to break the other’s serve. While Zverev should win, I fully expect Khachanov to cause him plenty of issues and take the sets deep, and it seems far more likely than not that he will pinch at least one – if not more.

Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov: 25+ total match aces | $2.11 with BetandPlay

As mentioned, this is a matchup between two very big boys, each of whom is capable of sending down big serves at their opponent. Zverev, in particular, has one of the biggest servies in the world and has demonstrated that with 73 aces across his five matches, including a massive 29 in the second round five-setter, and the fourth fastest serve at the event. Khachanov hasn’t picked up quite as many but has still averaged nearly 10 per match. An important factor in a bet such as this is the length of the match, with more aces obviously more likely in longer matches, and I fully expect this one to go into at least four if not five sets, and quite possibly long ones at that. That will give ample opportunity for both players to pick up aces, particularly as legs get heavy deep into the tournament and potentially deep into the match. At better than even money with most betting sites, this one looks like great value.

Ben Shelton vs Frances Tiafoe: Ben Shelton -1.5 sets | $1.62 with Zoccer

While there will be plenty of fans around the world intrigued by the Zverev vs Khachanov match, locals will have their focus firmly on the Shelton vs Tiafoe match. It’s been a great tournaments for the locals with a number of them making it deep into the event, and at least one of them will make the final after Shelton and Tiafoe each made it through to the same semi. Both of them have come through incredibly difficult quarterfinals matchups; Tiafoe came back from 2-0 down against another American in Alex Michelson, winning the final three sets in thrilling fashion and the last in a tiebreak, while Shelton put in an unbelievable performance against Carlos Alcaraz, also winning in a final set tiebreak. That was undeniably one of the best performances of Shelton’s career, and while it would have taken plenty out of him, he’s got an opponent who will be similarly fatigued after a gruelling matchup. These two have met four times in their career with Shelton winning three, while this is also the third time in four years they’ve played at the US Open – the previous two matches being split one apiece. So who gets the job done this time round? They’re both coming off inspiring wins, but while Shelton beat one of the dominant players of this generation in Carlos Alcaraz, Tiafoe did it against the unseeded Michelson. Shelton’s form is as good as anyone’s, and he looks more than capable of winning this within four sets.