Alexander Zverev advanced to the third round of the US Open on Thursday night but needed five sets and more than four and a half hours to beat Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-3, a match that concluded at 2.15 a.m. in the second-latest second-round finish in US Open history.
The No. 1 seed had hoped for a smoother outing after needing five sets to edge Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday. Instead, Zverev became the first top-seeded man to play back-to-back five-set matches to start a major in the Open Era, which dates to 1968. He has spent more than nine hours on court through his first two rounds and avoided the earliest exit by a No. 1 seed since Andre Agassi in 2000.
Seeds falling around him
While Zverev survived, No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 6 Alex de Minaur did not, bringing the total top-10 players eliminated before the third round to four.
Auger-Aliassime fell to Karen Khachanov 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, becoming the highest-ranked player eliminated from the tournament so far. He said afterward that he had been feeling dizzy and seeing spots and could not recover. He said he could not beat Khachanov or anyone else in the draw feeling the way he did, and that when he cannot move, it is no longer really about tennis.
De Minaur lost in straight sets to Botic Van De Zandschulp.
The previous highest-ranked player to fall had been No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who lost in the first round at the US Open for the first time in his career.
Other results
Taylor Fritz, the 2024 US Open finalist, was dominant in a 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 win over Mattia Bellucci. Fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli beat Tristan Schoolkate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to advance.
The draw picture
Zverev’s survival keeps the top seed alive but barely. Two five-set matches in two rounds are an unusual physical burden, and the question is whether he can recover adequately while facing opponents who have used far less energy to reach the same stage.
Four of the top 10 are already gone, which opens the draw significantly. The players still in have a measurably clearer path to the second week. Zverev remains in the draw but on a trajectory that requires careful monitoring.
