Alexander Zverev survives five-set epic vs. Lorenzo Sonego in U.S. Open Round 1

As Tuesday night turned to Wednesday morning in Queens, the top seed on the men’s side of the U.S. Open found himself in deep trouble. Alexander Zverev, the newly-minted major champion at Roland Garros and the No. 1 seed at a major for the first time in his career, trailed Lorenzo Sonego two sets to one and was deep in a fourth set, just points from defeat.

Then, as he has so often this season, the big-serving German intoned to grind until he found a way back in the match. In the end, he stole the fourth set at the very end before wearing Sonego down in the fifth to secure a 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory and move on to the second round after one of the best matches of the first round.

Sonego came into the night having never beaten Zverev during their careers and has been having a tough season with injuries, so expectations were low for the Italian entering this contest. However, some big serving and clutch play on break points, combined with a bit of a flat performance from Zverev, led to one of the closest matches of the week.

Zverev enters this tournament as the No. 1 seed despite being second in the world rankings, as top-ranked Jannik Sinner is out with a knee injury. A victory here at the U.S. Open would give the 29-year old a great chance to take the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career with a strong fall.

After coming out of this match, Zverev will feel even better about his title chances at a U.S. Open that has already lost Novak Djokovic in a stunning first-round defeat. No. 2 seed and seven-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz is playing his first tournament back from a four-month absence due to a wrist injury, though he is defending his title in New York.

The German will now take on Frenchman Quentin Halys in the Round of 64 on Thursday.

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