US Open | I’ve mastered winning ugly ties: Alexander Zverev after win over Quentin Halys

Alexander Zverev celebrates his Round-Two win over Quentin Halys at the US Open on Thursday. Pic/AFP

[popcorn number="03" desc="No. of times Alexander Zverev has beaten Quentin Halys across all competitions in 2026" class="Default"]

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev kept his bid for a first US Open title on track with another gritty five-set victory over Quentin Halys on Thursday.

World No. 2 Zverev laboured until 2:15 am Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium to shake off 52nd-ranked Frenchman Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 6-3. The four-hour 33-minute marathon followed his wild first-round five-setter against 89th-ranked Lorenzo Sonego that kept Zverev at it until shortly before 2 am on Wednesday.

"The performance was quite sh't to be honest. But I won, that's the most important thing. Physically, I feel fine.

I am proud to be physically quite strong. I just hope at some point I'll start playing better tennis. I'm winning ugly right now. It's also a skill to win ugly, when you're not playing great tennis. I think I've mastered that," said Zverev.

The 29-year-old will face Chile's Alejandro Tabilo in the next round.

While Zverev survived, Auger-Aliassime fell 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, to 50th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov, pulled away relentlessly from the physically ailing Canadian, who said he was "dizzy and seeing spots. "I thought maybe it would pass, but it didn't," a dejected Auger-Aliassime said. Sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur also suffered an upset at the hands of Dutch World No. 70 Botic van de Zandschulp, losing 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, while 123rd-ranked Australian Dane Sweeny shocked 13th seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

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