Top seed Alexander Zverev was put through the late-night ringer once more before booking his place in the third round of the US Open on Friday. The German star, who had finished a five-set first round battle in the early hours of Wednesday morning, was again forced to go the distance before grinding out a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 6-3 victory over France’s Quentin Halys. The 4hr 33 min slugfest was another gruelling outing on the Arthur Ashe Stadium show court for Zverev, who clinched victory at just after 2.15am local time.
Zverev Advances Despite Struggles
Alexander Zverev, 29, has battled through nearly 10 hours on court in his first two matches and will next face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo. After his latest match, Zverev expressed dissatisfaction with his performance, stating, “The performance was quite shit to be honest, but I won, that’s the most important thing.” He reflected on the physical toll of the match, noting, “Another four-and-a-half hours, 2:15 am, that’s what I go to the gym for.” Zverev also thanked the dedicated fans who remained until the end, saying, “The couple thousand people (who stayed) made up for the 15,000 that left.”
Yet it was a different story when the fourth set ended in a tiebreak, with Halys dominating Zverev to level the match and take send it to a decider. Yet Zverev’s composed service game suddenly looked vulnerable and a double fault gave Halys two set points at 15-40 which the Frenchman pounced on to knot it at one set apiece.
