Zverev just wants to go to sleep after late-night marathon at US Open

"Everyone is tired, everyone wants to go to sleep," he said in his on-court interview in front of only a few fans who were still at the Arthur Ashe stadium in the early hours of Wednesday.

Zverev narrowly avoid becoming only the fourth top-seeded man to lose in the first round of a grand slam in the Open era.

The French Open champion trailed Sonego by two sets to one but clawed his way back to win in five, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5, 6-4.

The four-hour-and-53-minute clash finished at 1:55am local time (0555 GMT).

"It was an incredible battle. Sometimes good things happen when you've fought your way through matches like this. I hope that's the case for me in this tournament," Zverev said. 

The German will face French player Quentin Halys already on Thursday.

Zverev is one of the top favourites to win the US Open, which would be the second Grand Slam title of his career.  He was a finalist in New York in 2020.

World number one Jannik Sinner of Italy is out with a knee injury, while record Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has already been eliminated. Top contender Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, it's returning from injury after a four-month break.