Alexander Zverev of Hamburg, Germany was in a tight marathon battle in the first round of the 2026 United States Open. After four hours and 53 minutes, Zverev prevailed with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 win over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
Only three number one seeded players in tennis history have lost in the first round of a major in the Open Era. They are John Newcombe of Australia (1971 United States Open), Stefan Edberg of Sweden (1990 French Open and 1990 United States Open), and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia (2002 Australian Open and 2003 Wimbledon). Zverev came mighty close to joining this list, but prevailed as he won the final two sets.
Zverev is now a perfect 7-0 all-time against Sonego. This was their first meeting this year and first ever meeting at a major.
The 2026 French Open champion was seeded first because Jannik Sinner of Italy withdrew from the U.S. Open because of a knee injury. It has not been a particularly good hard court summer for Zverev. He lost in the second round of Montreal to Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands (6-7, 6-2, 6-4), and then in the fourth round of Cincinnati to Tommy Paul of the United States (4-6, 7-6, 6-4).
This was the second longest match in Zverev’s career. The longest match went five hours and 27 minutes as Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat Zverev 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5 in the 2026 Australian Open semifinal.
Zverev next plays Quentin Halys of France, the 52nd ranked player. Zverev has won both prior matches. Both meetings came this year. Zverev won 7-6, 7-6 in the fourth round of Miami and 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the third round of the French Open.
