New Delhi, Sept. 2 -- Alexander Zverev survived a huge first-round scare at the 2026 US Open, battling past Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in five sets at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.

The top seed defeated Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7-9), 7-5, 6-4 in a marathon contest that lasted four hours and 53 minutes. The match, played on Arthur Ashe Stadium, finished at 1.55 AM local time on Wednesday. The victory keeps Zverev's US Open 2026 campaign alive as he aims to go one better from 2020, when he lost to Dominic Thiem in the final.

The victory was particularly significant for Zverev because he entered the tournament as the top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

The German, currently ranked No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, arrived in New ...