US Open: Alexander Zverev survives five-set thriller against Lorenzo Sonego
What's the story
Top seed Alexander Zverev survived a major scare in the first round of the 2026 US Open, beating Italy's Lorenzo Sonego. The match was a grueling five-setter that lasted four hours and 53 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Zverev, who won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4, started a Grand Slam tournament as the top seed for the first time.
Match analysis
A look at key stats
Despite a shaky start with some forehand errors, Zverev improved his game. He created 22 break chances and converted five of them.
The German star had a win percentage of 77 on his second serve.
While Sonego fired 16 aces, Zverev committed 8 double-faults.
After the match, Zverev praised Sonego for his incredible performance and admitted that this was the longest first-round match he had ever played.
Form
How Zverev has fared
Zverev reached the US Open second round for the eighth successive year. The 2020 US Open finalist is now 29-10 at the hard-court Slam.
The German player is now 132-41 at Grand Slams.
Earlier this year, Zverev scripted history after winning the French Open. It ended his impasse of winning a Grand Slam title.
Zverev then lost the Wimbledon final to Jannik Sinner. He is 47-13 in the season.
Information
Zverev set to face Quentin Halys
Zverev, who now has a perfect 7-0 record against Sonego, will now face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round. The world number two leads their head-to-head series 2-0, with both meetings coming this year at Miami and Roland Garros.
Do you know?
Most five-setters
According to Opta, Zverev has played the most five-set matches (17) in the opening week of Grand Slams among ATP top 10 players since the ATP rankings were first published in 1973. He earlier surpassed Pete Sampras (15).