Zverev beats Sonego in five sets after four hours and 52 minutes

The first round of a Grand Slam rarely produces matches like this one. On Arthur Ashe Stadium Alexander Zverev beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-5 6-4 in four hours and 52 minutes, finishing around two in the morning in New York. The score, reported by ANSA from Flushing Meadows, only partly conveys how close the match came to turning: in the fourth set Sonego was two points from winning the match.

The German’s comment on his opponent, gathered at the press conference, was terse:

“I think he is an incredible player” — Alexander Zverev, German tennis player

The remark is taken from the Lottomatica Sport report. On the other side of the net the reading was the same: “It was a beautiful match, I could not have asked for a better match,” Sonego said according to Il Giornale’s account, based on SuperTennis interviews and official results. In the second round Zverev will face France’s Quentin Halys.

The three matches that ended well

The same day produced three Italian qualifications, very different in nature from one another.

Flavio Cobolli beat Argentina’s Francisco Comesaña 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 in four hours and thirteen minutes: two sets down, three sets recovered. Added to Sonego’s match, the Italian day on New York’s courts topped nine hours of play for just two matches.

Lorenzo Musetti beat Britain’s Arthur Fery 6-3 6-3 7-5, in his first match after a long injury: three sets, none lost, the simplest possible signal one could ask of a comeback.

Mattia Bellucci beat Hungary’s Zsombor Piros 6-4 6-2 6-0, securing his first win at a Grand Slam tournament in 2026. The third set with no games conceded is the sharpest figure of his day. The results are collected in OA Sport’s summary of the official draws.

The schedule

The tournament is being played in New York from August 25 to September 13, 2026; the men’s final is scheduled for Sunday, September 13. Between last night’s match and that day lie just under two weeks, a fact that carries weight when a player has already spent nearly five hours in the first round: Zverev played 4 hours and 52 minutes before even entering the second round of the draw.

What we don’t know

We do not know the match statistics for the game between Zverev and Sonego — winners, unforced errors, service points — because the available sources report only the score and duration. We do not know who Cobolli, Musetti and Bellucci will face in the second round: the only pairing indicated is Zverev’s against Halys. We have no information on Musetti’s physical condition after his return, beyond the result. The available sources do not indicate Zverev’s position in the tournament’s seeding.

The figure that remains from the first round is the time count: 4 hours and 52 minutes for Zverev and Sonego, 4 hours and 13 for Cobolli and Comesaña.