Zverev Outlasts Sonego in 5 Sets

Alexander Zverev outlasted Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7-9), 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of the 2026 US Open on Arthur Ashe Stadium, a nearly five-hour grind that spilled into Wednesday morning. The No. 1 seed closed it at about 1:55 a.m. local after 4 hours, 52 to 53 minutes and avoided becoming the first men's top seed to lose a Slam opener since Lleyton Hewitt fell at Wimbledon in 2003.

Sonego, ranked around 89, made Ashe feel small. He tracked down balls that should have been winners, saved break points by the handful, and pushed Zverev to 5-for-22 on break chances for the night. The head-to-head still sits 7-0 Zverev. It did not look like that for long stretches after midnight.

How the five-setter flipped

Zverev took the first set without facing a break point. Sonego answered, broke for 5-3 in the second, and leveled the match. In the third, Zverev broke when Sonego served for the set at 5-4, then double-faulted away the tiebreaker on Sonego's second set point after briefly leading 7-6 with serves at 133 and 141 mph, per AP.

The fourth set went back and forth. Zverev broke for 3-2, got broken right back, then held and broke again for 6-5 to force a fifth. Sonego had his hand or wrist checked before the decider. Zverev broke for 3-2 in the fifth and stayed ahead from there.

What Zverev said after

"Nearly five hours for a first round, I think this is the longest first-round match I've ever played in my life," Zverev said afterward, per AP. "So, credit to him. He played amazing tennis today, would have beaten a lot of players for sure, but I'm happy to be through."

He also told reporters he was glad to win that kind of battle after two hard-court events that did not go well. France24/AFP had the same shape of the night: wild angles, retrievals, and errors, ending deep into Wednesday morning on Ashe.

Who is next

Quentin Halys waits in Round 2. Elsewhere on the men's board, Taylor Fritz already cleaned up his Ashe opener and Flavio Cobolli completed a five-set comeback earlier Tuesday.

Zverev became the No. 1 seed here after Jannik Sinner withdrew with a right knee injury. He won Roland Garros earlier this year and reached the Wimbledon final. None of that resume mattered once Sonego started winning coin-flip points. What mattered was surviving 5-for-22 on break points and walking off Ashe with a Round 1 win instead of history nobody wants.