Alexander Zverev vs Lorenzo Sonego — R128 — US Open

Chances were never the problem here; converting them was. Zverev manufactured 22 break points and took five, a 2-for-12 stretch in the fourth set alone, while Sonego, ranked 91st, saw only five looks all match and cashed three, outserving the No. 1 seed 16 aces to 12 and dragging the third set into a tiebreak. The decider asked for one break. Zverev got it in game 5 for 3-2, the only one of the set, and finished with 173 of the match's 342 points, a four-point margin after 4 hours and 52 minutes on court. He had won all three prior meetings on record, none of which had asked anything close to this of him. The top seed moves into the second round with his 2026 hard-court record at 16-6, the summer's Masters exits to Paul and Griekspoor now behind him at considerable cost.