Top seed Alexander Zverev was able to survive another scare at the US Open, defeating Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3 on Thursday in New York. The German had won his opening round against Lorenzo Sonego after four hours and 53 minutes, and this time it took him four hours and 33 minutes to go past Halys.

Zverev and Halys battled until 2:15 a.m. Friday, as both of them gave their all on a humid night. Zverev was not happy with his performance but was relieved to make it to the next round at the New York Major.

“The performance was quite s***, to be honest,” said a candid Zverev in his on-court interview. “But, I won, and that’s the most important thing. I’ve been here for another four and a half hours. 2:15 a.m again.”

The German smashed 29 aces throughout the match and created 20 break chances, but converted only five. Zverev said he regularly hits the gym to stay at the top of his fitness.

“That’s what I go to the gym for,” said Zverev, who took off his shirt immediately after clinching match point. “That’s what I go to the track for and train for — to be able to come out on top of these difficult moments when you’re not playing best, when you’re not hitting winners left and right, just getting through these kinds of matches.”

Zverev will next take on 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo in the third round. The German bested the Chilean in the US Open opening round in the previous season to improve to 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.