Alexander Zverev remains on the losing side in the first round match of the US Open 2026. French Open champion and top seed Zverev had to work hard for almost 5 hours to win against unseeded Lorenzo Sonego. Zverev survived Sonego's reversal attempt and won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4 in a thrilling match that lasted 4 hours 52 minutes.
Zverev made a good comeback after losing the second and third sets and dashed the hopes of Italy's 89th ranked Sonego. This is Zverev's seventh consecutive win against Sonego. Sonego had previously appeared in the US Open 9 times but was never able to advance beyond the second round. This time he gave a tough fight in the first round but he could not defeat Zverev.
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This kind of match was needed – Zverev
Zverev said after the match, 'I am happy that I was successful in winning such a match. I needed a similar match because I had not been able to perform well in the last two tournaments. After struggling many times, you get favorable results and hopefully I will perform well in the tournament further.
Rybakina and Gauff also won
In the women's category, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff made it to the second round by winning in straight sets. Second seed Rybakina defeated 17-year-old California-based Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2. Fourth seed Gauff defeated Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-4. Fifth seed Maria Andreeva defeated Indonesia's Janice Jen 6-2, 6-2, while 17th seed Alex Maila defeated Marie Estoyana 6-1, 6-2.
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This player is a victim of reverses
In women's singles, 12th seed Belinda Bencic became the victim of an upset. She was defeated by unseeded player Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Madison Keys managed to advance by winning in straight sets.
In the men's category, ninth seeded American Taylor Fritz defeated compatriot Darwin Blanch 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Italy's fifth seed Flavio Coboli, however, had to battle through five sets to secure a 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentina's Francisco Comesana. Gael Monfils made a strong comeback after losing the first set to defeat Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0. This is how he made his 40th birthday memorable.
Monfils became the oldest male player to win a match in the final Grand Slam tournament. Before him, Jimmy Connors had achieved this feat. He defeated Jaime Onsins on September 2, 1992 at the age of 40.