Top-seeded Alexander Zverev kept his bid for a first US Open title on track with a gritty five-set victory over Quentin Halys, staying the course as a spate of upsets rocked the men’s draw on Thursday. A trio of former women’s champions – Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka – booked third-round berths, along with reigning Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva. But men’s third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime tumbled out, along with sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur and 13th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti.
Zverev laboured until 2:15 am Friday on 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 2am ( ) on Wednesday. I am proud, I think, to be physically quite strong.
I just hope at some point I’ll start playing better tennis. It’s also a skill to win ugly and when you’re not playing great tennis. I think I’ve mastered that right now.” While Zverev survived, Auger-Aliassime fell 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to 50th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov, who pulled away relentlessly from the physically ailing Canadian, who said he was “dizzy and seeing spots”.
Khachanov took full advantage of 47 unforced errors, with eight double faults, from Auger-Aliassime, who struggled particularly on serve. It is not the first time Van de Zandschulp has sprung an upset at Flushing Meadows, where he shocked Carlos Alcaraz in the second round in 2024. Meanwhile, top women contenders marched on.
Fourth-seeded Gauff, the 2023 champion, thrilled the Ashe night crowd with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) victory over former world number two Paula Badosa of Spain. Swiatek sailed through with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Nadia Podoroska, while Osaka survived a second-set swoon to beat Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. Australian Open winner Rybakina, the world number two who is closing in on Aryna Sabalenka’s number one ranking, saw off Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-4, and Andreeva rolled over Germany’s Eva Lys 6-0, 6-2.
Gauff, 22, had lost five of her eight prior meetings with Badosa, so she was ready when the Spaniard piled on the pressure in the second set, regaining a break to force the tiebreaker. She’s capable of blasting winners and blasting return winners,” said Gauff, who was pleased she kept her composure. Swiatek, whose six Grand Slam titles include the 2022 US Open, had things mostly her own way against Podroska, a former top-40 player now 449th in the world.
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