No top seed in the Open Era has done this: Zverev goes five sets twice in two rounds

Alexander Zverev has played ten sets at this US Open and won six of them. The No. 1 seed came through 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-3 against Frenchman Quentin Halys on Friday night, in the last match to be completed in the second round, and he has now been taken the distance in both of his matches here.

It is the first time in the Open Era that the No. 1 seed at a Grand Slam has been taken to five sets in each of his opening two rounds. The previous mark was three sets on the road, held jointly by Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon in 1979, Ivan Lendl at Wimbledon in 1989 and Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2010. Zverev has given up four.

Zverev plays Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, the No. 25 seed, in the third round.

Halys made him work for the rest

Halys, ranked No. 52, took the second set of this second round and then the fourth on a tiebreak, having already lost the third on one, which is a rare way to keep a match alive against the top seed. He had beaten Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-1 in the first round. Zverev broke early in the decider and closed it out 6-3.

Zverev holds the No. 1 seeding here only because Jannik Sinner withdrew from the tournament with a knee problem, and he leads the ATP Tour in match wins this season.

He is now one of the few high seeds left in a draw that has been emptying since the opening weekend. Novak Djokovic, the No. 4 seed, lost in the first round to Mariano Navone. Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 3 seed and last year’s semi-finalist, went out to Karen Khachanov in the second.

Arthur Fils, the No. 10 seed and Cincinnati champion, lost his opening match to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Rafael Jodar, the No. 12 seed, was beaten in straight sets by a lucky loser. Lorenzo Musetti, the No. 13 seed, lost to an Australian wild card ranked No. 123. Brandon Nakashima, the No. 16 seed, went out to Alex Michelsen.

US Open 2026, men’s singles second round

A. Zverev [1] d. Q. Halys: 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3
A. Tabilo [25] d. A. Popyrin: 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3), 6-2
L. Darderi [21] d. D. Svrcina (Q): 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4
D. Sweeny (W) d. L. Musetti [13]: 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
M. Zheng (W) d. Y. Bu (L): 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
A. Gea (L) d. Z. Svajda: 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Z. Bergs [31] d. J. De Jong: 7-5, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(2)
B. Van de Zandschulp d. A. De Minaur [6]: 6-4, 7-5, 6-2
K. Khachanov d. F. Auger-Aliassime [3]: 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
B. Bonzi d. I. Buse [32]: 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-0
J. Mensik [17] d. J. Rodionov (Q): 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
L. Tien [14] d. G. Monfils (W): 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
T. Fritz [9] d. M. Bellucci: 6-0, 6-1, 6-1
F. Cerundolo [24] d. J. Struff: 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
A. Blockx [28] d. M. Trungelliti: 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
F. Cobolli [5] d. T. Schoolkate (Q): 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
D. Medvedev [7] d. S. Gorzny (W): 6-1, 6-3, 7-5
A. Rinderknech [26] d. J. Munar: 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-5
V. Vacherot [22] d. K. Majchrzak: 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2
F. Tiafoe [11] d. R. Sakamoto (Q): 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-5
A. Michelsen d. B. Nakashima [16]: 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
D. Merida d. A. Rublev [23]: 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
T. Etcheverry [27] d. J. Fearnley (L): 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
M. Navone d. M. Berrettini: 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4)
B. Shelton [8] d. H. Hurkacz: 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5
D. Shapovalov d. L. Van Assche: 6-0, 6-4, 7-6(7)
J. Lehecka [18] d. T. Samuel (Q): 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
S. Tsitsipas d. L. Harris (Q): 6-7(1), 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-4
A. Bublik [15] d. A. Mannarino: 6-3, 6-1, 6-1
T. Paul [20] d. D. Prizmic: 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Y. Wu d. J. Duckworth: 7-5, 6-3, 6-1
C. Alcaraz [2] d. J. Faria: 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2

US Open 2026, men’s singles third round

A. Zverev [1] vs A. Tabilo [25] – Saturday
L. Darderi [21] vs D. Sweeny (W) – Saturday
M. Zheng (W) vs A. Gea (L) – Saturday
Z. Bergs [31] vs B. Van de Zandschulp – Saturday
K. Khachanov vs B. Bonzi – Saturday
J. Mensik [17] vs L. Tien [14] – Saturday
T. Fritz [9] vs F. Cerundolo [24] – Saturday
A. Blockx [28] vs F. Cobolli [5] – Saturday
D. Medvedev [7] vs A. Rinderknech [26] – Sunday
V. Vacherot [22] vs F. Tiafoe [11] – Sunday
A. Michelsen vs D. Merida – Sunday
T. Etcheverry [27] vs M. Navone – Sunday
B. Shelton [8] vs D. Shapovalov – Sunday
J. Lehecka [18] vs S. Tsitsipas – Sunday
A. Bublik [15] vs T. Paul [20] – Sunday
Y. Wu vs C. Alcaraz [2] – Sunday