ATP Tour

Zverev: 'It was a match that I needed'

Alexander Zverev was just two points from a first-round defeat in the early hours of Wednesday morning at the US Open, but survived in five sets to overcome Lorenzo Sonego in four hours and 53 minutes.

Afterward, the top seed reflected on his late-night scare.

“I think there's definitely room for improvement. I think tonight, funny enough, I think I missed a few more backhands than I usually do. That's something that doesn't happen very often,” Zverev said. “But definitely something that I can adjust a little bit and hopefully moving forward it will be better. Overall, I think it was a great, tough battle, and I think it was a match that I needed after the last couple of weeks.”

Zverev ended his long wait for major glory at Roland Garros earlier this year when he triumphed in the French capital and then advanced to the final at Wimbledon for the first time. The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings arrives in New York chasing his best form, though, having gone 2-2 across the ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

For large periods against Sonego, Zverev looked on course for another early exit. But the German refused to go away and now leads the Italian 7-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series following his 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4 win that finished at 1:55 a.m. on Wednesday.

“I think he's an incredible player who struggled this year, and it's as simple as that sometimes,” Zverev said when asked about Sonego. “Today he played like he normally plays, and he's an amazing tennis player. For me, he has an amazing serve, amazing forehand. He can return so quickly.

“I would say I would have one of the fastest second serves on tour, and he was attacking it all the time. So he played amazing. I have to give credit to him, but yeah, I'm just happy that in the end I managed to win.”

Zverev, who has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, will next meet Frenchman Quentin Halys after winning the second-longest match of his major career.