US Open: Zverev needs five sets again to advance
Top seed Alexander Zverev won a second straight five-set marathon at the US Open to reach the third round, while several other top players have already been eliminated.
Germany's Alexander Zverev, the tournament's top seed, needed five sets in the second round of the US Open to beat France's Quentin Halys, ranked 52nd in the world. The world number two prevailed 6:4, 4:6, 7:6, 6:7, 3:6 in a match that lasted four hours and 37 minutes on court.
This marks the second straight round in which Zverev has had to fight through five sets — in the first round, he also overcame his opponent in a grueling match in which he was just two points away from defeat. In the next round, Zverev will face Chile's Alejandro Tabilo, ranked 28th in the world.
Not all top players have managed to survive the tournament's early stages. Third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and sixth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia have both already been eliminated, losing in the second round.
All top ten women reach third round
In the women's singles draw, all ten top-ranked players have advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since Wimbledon 2009. In the early hours of Friday, world number two Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan also cruised through her second-round match, beating Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 105th, 6:2, 6:4.
Rybakina's next opponent will be Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva, currently ranked 58th. To become world number one for the first time in her career regardless of her rivals' results, Rybakina needs to reach the semifinals at this tournament.
