Alexander Zverev survived a first-round scare at the US Open as he went past Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4 after battling for four hours and 53 minutes on Wednesday night. This is the first time when the German is competing as a top seed at the Major. 

Zverev was only two points away from a loss against the Italian at 4-5, 30/30 in the fourth set but kept his calm at the crucial junction of the match to turn a corner. The German was happy after making it to the second round after a long battle.

“I’m just happy I won. That’s it,” said a relieved Zverev. “Incredible battle. A lot of ups and downs. Nearly five hours for a first round. I think this is the longest first-round match I’ve ever played in my life. So credit to him, he played amazing tennis today. He would have beaten a lot of players for sure, but I’m happy to be through.”

Zverev had entered a contest with a perfect 6-0 Lexus ATP head-to-head record against Sonego and was able to better it.

The German admitted it was a kind of match he needed after recent struggles in the last two tournaments.

“This is exactly the kind of match that I needed. I struggled the last two tournaments,” said Zverev, referring to his 2-2 record across ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati. “Sometimes good things happen after you fight through one of these matches. I’m hoping that will be the case for me this tournament.”

Zverev will next face Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round at the New York Major. The German has a Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-0 record against Halys.