It was just after 2:15 a.m. local time when Alexander Zverev pumped his fist on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The German had ground out a gruelling five-set win over Quentin Halys, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, to reach the third round of the US Open as the top seed in the draw. Just how far from certain that outcome was became clear through a set-by-set narrative that kept the Flushing Meadows crowd on edge deep into the night.
Zverev breaks early, Halys hits back
The opening set unfolded according to the favourite's script: Zverev converted a single break and took it 6-4. But Quentin Halys, who had claimed his first ATP Tour title in Kitzbühel in 2026, was far from rattled. In the second set the Frenchman raised his level noticeably, dictating from the baseline and forcing the match level at one set apiece with aggressive baseline play — 4-6 from Zverev's perspective.
The third set proved to be the pivotal phase of the match. Halys seized control, surging to a 4-1 lead and seemingly on course for another set win. But Zverev leaned on his serve when it mattered most: the German struck 29 aces across the entire match, and in the tiebreak in particular he was dominant on first serve. Winning the tiebreak 7-3, Zverev claimed the 75-minute set and moved ahead two sets to one.
Tiebreak battle and the deciding set
Halys refused to be discouraged by that setback. In the fourth set the Frenchman turned the tables: that set also went to a tiebreak, which Halys won 7-3 this time to force a deciding set. By that point the physical toll on Zverev was immense — this was already his second five-set match in succession at US Open 2026, having previously defeated Lorenzo Sonego in an almost five-hour encounter. Halys, by contrast, had expended considerably less energy in the first round.
In the fifth set, however, Zverev demonstrated his mental fortitude. He broke Halys's serve early, extended his lead to 4-2 with an overhead smash at the net, and never looked back. Halys did win the seventh game to make it 2-4, but Zverev closed out the final two games and sealed the match 6-3 in the deciding set.
Statistics reflect a closely contested battle
The numbers told the story of a tight contest: Zverev won 52 percent of all points and held serve in 88 percent of his service games. He won 80 percent of points on first serve and 48 percent on second serve. Halys saved 75 percent of the break points he faced, but converted just 43 percent of his own break point opportunities. With 63 unforced errors to Zverev's 49, and 12 double faults compared to eight from the German, Halys ultimately came up short in the decisive moments. Zverev, competing for the first time as the top seed at a Grand Slam and arriving in New York as the reigning French Open champion, advances to the third round — and keeps his dream of a first US Open title very much alive.
