Alexander Zverev endured another gruelling five-set encounter at the US Open as he overcame Quentin Halys to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows.

Zverev was taken the distance by Lorenzo Sonego in the previous round, and was once again put through his paces to secure a 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 victory. 

The top seed will now take on a familiar foe in Alejandro Tabilo, with Zverev having beaten the Chilean in the first round of last year's US Open. 

Zverev started strongly and missed his first four break opportunities, but he did not waste his fifth chance against Halys as he eventually got the better of the Frenchman's serve. 

From there, Zverev held to take the opening set, only for Halys to respond emphatically by taking the second set with a battling display and level things up in just under an hour. 

Both players struggled to hold in the third set, but it was Halys who appeared to be in control, reeling off four straight games to surge into a 4-1 lead, only for Zverev to hit back.

Zverev clawed himself back into contention to force a tie-break, going on to claim the third, but once again, Halys dug deep and ensured the match would go to a decider. 

In a tightly-contested final set that took place in the early hours in New York, Zverev got the break of serve he craved in the fifth game before hammering home his advantage. 

He sealed his progression when Halys sent a forehand return into the net, with an exhausted Zverev taking his shirt off in celebration, though he conceded that it was far from his best display during his on-court interview. 

"The performance was quite s***, to be honest," said Zverev. "But, I won, and that's the most important thing. I've been here for another four and a half hours. 2:15 am again."

It's deja vu for Alexander Zverev!

He once again wins in five sets. pic.twitter.com/uGv9ZzvE3b

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2026

Zverev will be joined in the next round by home hopeful Learner Tien, who defeated Gael Monfils in what was his final appearance at a grand slam in his career. 

Monfils, who is retiring at the end of the season, could not produce any more magic at Flushing Meadows, with Tien going on to win 6-4 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round. 

Jakub Mensik is also through after he defeated Jurij Rodionov 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-3, but Alex de Minaur's wait for a first major title rolls on following a straight-sets defeat. 

De Minaur has reached the quarter-finals at the US Open in three separate editions, but he fell short of that stage this year after Botic van de Zandschulp won 6-4 7-5 6-2.

Zverev grinds out another five-set victory

Competing as a top seed in a major for the very first time, Zverev would have been hoping for a smoother path to the third round, but his grit and determination was once again on show as he came out on top in another enthralling encounter. 

Zverev is the first top seed in the Open Era to play two five-setters in the opening two rounds of a grand slam event, while since his main draw debut at Wimbledon in 2015, Zverev (19) has won the most five-set matches of any player in the opening week at major events.

The German will want to improve, though. Zverev (four) has conceded the outright-most sets of any top seed in the Open Era en route to the last 32 at a grand slam, surpassing the three dropped by Bjorn Borg (Wimbledon 1979), Ivan Lendl (Wimbledon 1989) and Roger Federer (Wimbledon 2010).

But he has a good record at this stage of majors. Only Novak Djokovic (71), Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic (28 each) have reached more grand slam rounds of 16 than Zverev's 25, and he could reach the last 16 at the US Open for the sixth time.