Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleTop seed Alexander Zverev survived a major scare to beat Italy's Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4 in a five-set US Open first-round thriller. The French Open champion found himself two points away from defeat after the pair traded breaks in the fourth, before battling back in a match lasting nearly five hours. Zverev avoided becoming the first top seed to lose in the opening round of a Grand Slam since Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2003. "I'm just happy I won, that's it," Zverev said. "I think it was an incredible battle, lots of ups and downs, nearly five hours. I think it was my longest first-round match at a Grand Slam.”The German will now face France's Quentin Halys.More bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

No. 1 men’s seed Alexander Zverev needed five sets to beat Lorenzo Sonego on Arthur Ashe.

Alexander Zverev has the No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time and the belief that comes from finally winning a major title

Alexander Zverev loses a third-set tiebreak to Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.