09/02/26 01:36:00
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09/02 01:35 CDT Top-seeded Alexander Zverev rallies just in time to avoid a
first-round exit at the US Open
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev rallies just in time to avoid a first-round exit at
the US Open
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Alexander Zverev rallied just in time to avoid becoming the
first men's No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament
since 2003, edging Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4 in a U.S. Open
match that ended Wednesday morning.
Zverev couldn't cash in on repeated chances to break Sonego's serve for much of
the night and was in danger of becoming the first top-seeded man to fall in his
first match in a major since Ivo Karlovic beat Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in
2003.
It hasn't happened at the U.S. Open since Stefan Edberg lost to Alexander
Volkov in 1990. Zverev finally broke through against Sonego's serve late to
pull out the match in 4 hours, 52 minutes.
"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. "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."
Zverev won his first major title at the French Open, lost to top-ranked Jannik
Sinner in the Wimbledon final, then became the No. 1 seed in a major for the
first time when Sinner had to withdraw from the U.S. Open with a right knee
injury.
Zverev is 7-0 against Sonego, an Italian who came in 1-9 against top-10 men in
Grand Slams. But Sonego's speed around the court allowed him to track down
balls that on other nights would have been winners, and he came up with enough
clutch serves to make Zverev just 5 for 22 on break points for the match.
The German broke when Sonego served for the third set at 5-4 and seemed to be
in good shape in the tiebreaker when he hit consecutive serves of 133 mph and
141 mph to take a 7-6 lead. Sonego won the next two points to take the lead and
Zverev then double-faulted to end the set.
Zverev then broke for a 3-2 lead in the fourth set, but Sonego raced from
corner to corner of the court in the next game to break right back. Sonego then
got within two points from winning the match with a 5-4 lead, but Zverev held
serve and then broke to go ahead 6-5.
Sonego had his hand or wrist checked before the start of the final set. He
appeared OK afterward but Zverev got the break he needed to grab a 3-2 lead and
stayed ahead from there.
Zverev advanced to face Quentin Halys in the second round, and the 2020 U.S.
Open runner-up wasn't disappointed that he needed to work so hard to get there.
"Actually I'm happy that I won this kind of battle because this exactly the
match that I needed," he said. "I struggled the last two tournaments, I didn't
play well and sometimes good things happen after you fight through one of these
matches. So I'm hoping that will be the case for me at this tournament."
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