Alexander Zverev survives his second longest Grand Slam match in the first round of US Open
Lorenzo Sonego took Zverev to five sets in nearly five hours.
Alexander Zverev knows that he has another good shot at glory at the US Open, now that two of the usual Grand Slam winners, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, are out; Sinner due to injury and Djokovic after being eliminated in the first round. The defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is making his return after four months, so he may not be at 100%, and the German took advantage of a similar situation at Roland Garros to claim his first major.
Zverev, however, nearly went down in the first round like Djokovic, and survived a five-set epic in almost five hours against Lorenzo Sonego: 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4, in four-hours and 53 minutes, the second longest Grand Slam match of his career. It ended at 1:55 AM on Wednesday, local time in New York, and Zverev simply said he's "just happy I won, that's it".
Zverev extended his record against Sonego to 7-0, but the current World No. 89 pushed Zverev to his limits, and he may feel it longer in the two-week tournament. The World No. 2 will face Quentin Halys in second round.
