US Open: Alexander Zverev survives thriller against Quentin Halys
What's the story
Top seed Alexander Zverev overcame a tough challenge from Frenchman Quentin Halys to advance to the third round of the 2026 US Open. The match, played on Thursday, was a nail-biter with Zverev winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3. This victory comes after his earlier struggle against Lorenzo Sonego in the opening round of this Grand Slam event. Zverev has now owns two five-set matches in a row.
Match highlights
A look at the match summary
Zverev, the reigning French Open champion, took an early lead in the match with a break.
However, Halys fought back hard in the second set to level things up.
The match was played at Arthur Ashe Stadium and kept fans on their toes as both players put up a tough fight.
Despite his frustrations after losing an early break in the third set and trailing 1-4 against Halys, Zverev managed to draw level and force a tiebreaker.
Match conclusion
Zverev to face Alejandro Tabilo in 3rd round
After winning the third set in a tiebreaker, Zverev lost the fourth but composed himself in the decider.
He took a 4-2 lead with an overhead smash at the net and capitalized on his opportunity to force an error on match point.
This hard-fought victory sets up a clash with 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo in the next round of this prestigious tournament.
Stats
Here are the match stats
The match was a close contest as Zverev recorded six aces while Halys managed seven.
The German star had a win percentage of 60 on his first serve and 51 on his second one.
He also committed as many as seven double-faults while securing seven of his 17 break points.
Zverev overall finished the game with 133 points, 20 more than Halys's tally.
Milestones
Zverev tops this list
As per Opta, Zverev (19) has won the most five-set matches of any player in the opening week at Grand Slam events since his main draw debut at Wimbledon in 2015.
No other player has even managed 15 wins in this period.
Zverev (4) has also conceded the outright-most sets of any top seed in the Open Era en route to the R32 at a Grand Slam.
The German became the first top seed in the Open Era to play two five-setters in the opening two rounds of a Grand Slam event.