By Shrivathsa Sridhar
NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Alexander Zverev survived another almighty scare at the U.S. Open as the top seed overcame Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-4 4-6 7-6(3) 6-7(3) 6-3 on Thursday to secure a place in the third round of the Grand Slam.
The French Open champion was taken the distance by Lorenzo Sonego in his opening contest and came under pressure from Halys throughout the next, forcing him to summon his resilience again and stay on track for a maiden title in New York.
“The performance was quite shit to be honest, but I won and that’s the most important thing,” Zverev said on the court following his marathon battle that lasted four hours and 33 minutes, finishing at 2.15 a.m. local time (0615 GMT).
“That’s what I go to the gym for, that’s what I go to the track for, what I train for, to be able to come out on top in these difficult moments.
“I hope at some point I’ll start playing better, but for now I’m happy to be in the third round.”
Zverev, the 2020 runner-up at Flushing Meadows, is competing as the top seed at a major for the first time in his career.
“Well, it’s great until you almost lose every single time! No, it’s special but I’ve said it before, it doesn’t matter who or what seeding you are, it matters who is at the end of the draw,” Zverev added.
“I’m crawling towards that. I’m still in it. I’m still there and hopefully I can give you another great show.”
Zverev took the opening set on the back of a solitary break, but world number 52 Halys came out swinging in the next to level the contest, bringing the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to life and ensuring there would be no easy route through.
The 29-year-old Zverev’s frustrations threatened to boil over after he threw away an early break in the third set and looked to be in deep trouble when Halys opened up a 4-1 lead, but the German responded emphatically to draw level.
After forcing a tiebreak and claiming the third set to edge ahead in the contest, Zverev dropped the fourth, before settling his nerves in the decider and building a 4-2 advantage with an overhead smash at the net.
Having found the opening he needed, Zverev raised his level another notch to force an error on match point and earn a hard-fought win for a clash with 25th seed Alejandro Tabilo in the next round.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Additional reporting by Janina Nuno Rios; in New York; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
