Top seed Alexander Zverev overcame poor form to win a second straight five-set marathon match at the US Open, finishing well after 2 a.m. on Friday with a move into the third round.
The German Roland Garros champion concluded more than nine night-time hours on the Ashe showcourt in front of a bare handful of hardy night owls as he earned a sloppy 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-3 over Quentin Halys of France.
“I’m winning ugly right now. It’s also a skill to win ugly when you’re not playing great tennis,” Zverev said. “I’ve mastered that right now.
“New York has always been difficult for me. Just the conditions, it’s really difficult for me to play good tennis here, but I hope I’ll find something.”
It marked the second time in three days that this summer’s Wimbledon finalist had gone over four hours at the venue notorious for rowdy after-dark crowds of alcohol-fuelled spectators.
The win was a struggle and Zverev was not pleased with how hard he had to work to get past the No. 52.
“The performance was quite shit, but I won and that is the most important thing,” he said after a 12th double-fault from Halys produced a match point, which Zverev converted as the Frenchman hit the net with a return.
“It’s 2:15 in the morning and I’m tired. But that’s why I go to the gym and the track and train to come out on top in moments like this even in moments where you don’t play your best.
.”You just want to get through these kinds of matches. I hope to start paying better but I’m glad to be in the third round.”
Zverev made a point to thank the faithful late-night fans “who made up for the 15,000 who left early.
“I crawled to this win, I’m still in it, I’m still alive.”
Zverev will now go into extreme recovery mode to be ready to face Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the fourth round at the weekend at a tournament drawing criticism for poor scheduling and habitual post-midnight finishes of night sessions.
The world No. 2 who has played for nine and a half hours over his last two matches, increased his ATP match-win lead to 48 this season and is the first man to record 20 Grand Slam wins in 2026.
Zverev threw down 29 aces among his 60 winners while Halys committed 63 unforced errors.
In women;’s play at the last major of the season, world No. 2 Elena Rybakina defeated Jessicra Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-4 while Coco Gauff stopped Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-4, 7-6 (5).
“I thought it was a high-level match. It was really tough,” the winner said. “Obviously Paula is someone that.. we”ve had our battles in the past, and so I knew today would be tough.
“I’m just happy to get through.
