US Open recap: Top seed survives major scare in five hour, 2am thriller

That’s a wrap from our coverage of day three at the US Open.

It was rain-soaked and full of drama, culminating with a big scare for top men’s seed Alexander Zverev.

Join us again tomorrow as Alex de Minaur (hopefully) gets his singles campaign underway. Over and out!

Alexander Zverev rallied just in time to avoid becoming the first men’s No.1 seed to lose in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament since 2003, edging Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-4 in a match that ended on Wednesday morning in New York.

Zverev won his first major title at the French Open, lost to top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, then became the No.1 seed in a major for the first time when Sinner had to withdraw with a right knee injury.

He couldn't cash in on repeated chances to break Sonego's serve for much of the night and was in danger of becoming the first top-seeded man to fall in his first match in a major since Ivo Karlovic beat Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2003.

It hasn’t happened at the US Open since Stefan Edberg lost to Alexander Volkov in 1990. Zverev finally broke through against Sonego’s serve late to pull out the match in 4 hours, 52 minutes.

Zverev is 7-0 against Sonego, an Italian who came in 1-9 against top-10 men in Grand Slams.

But Sonego’s speed around the court allowed him to track down balls that on other nights would have been winners, and he came up with enough clutch serves to make Zverev just 5 for 22 on break points for the match.

Alex de Minaur will have to wait another day to add his name to the list of Australians in the second round at the US Open after his match was cancelled due to rain on Wednesday (AEST).

De Minaur would have been hoping to follow in the winning footsteps of Australia’s Dane Sweeny and Tristan Schoolkate, when he was informed he would have to come back on Thursday (AEST) to play his first round match due to a wet weather delay.

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Demon caught in weather chaos but Aussie charge gathers momentum

Top seed Alexander Zverev has survived a major scare to beat Lorenzo Sonego in five gruelling sets.

The German prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 in a first round match that lasted nearly five hours and finished at 1.55am in New York.

“This is exactly the type of match I needed,” Zverev said.

“Everyone’s tired and everyone wants to go to sleep. See you tomorrow.”

Jelena Dokic said Zverev would have lost that match in previous years.

“The composure, the calmness, the big points he really came through,” Dokic said on Nine.

Second seed Elena Rybakina eased concerns over her fitness and advanced to the US Open second round, with a clinical 6-3 6-2 win over American crowd favourite Thea Frodin.

The Kazakh withdrew from the Cincinnati tune-up tournament with a leg injury, raising questions over whether she would even compete in New York but appeared untroubled as she launched her bid for the title and the world number one ranking.

Rybakina, a two-time Grand Slam champion, will next face either Czech Darja Vidmanova or Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

“She played really well today, and she has great shots,” Rybakina said before pausing as she packed her kit to join the crowd’s ovation for Frodin.

“It was not easy, and I’m just happy to be here, playing here.”

The rain has thrown a spanner in the works at the US Open.

Here are players who will return to complete their suspended first round matches on Thursday.

Women’s singles draw

Iva Jovic v Magdalena Frech | 4-4

Magda Linette v Francesca Jones | 4-6, 0-0

Nikola Bartunkova v Mayar Sherif | 6-1, 0-0

Daria Kasatkina v Paula Badosa | 1-6, 4-5

Tatjana Maria v Jeļena Ostapenko | 4-6, 6-1, 0-0

Men’s singles draw

Alex Molcan v Benjamin Bonzi | 2-1

Zizou Bergs v Carlos Taberner | 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 2-1

Jesper De Jong v Francesco Passaro | 2-6, 6-2, 4-6, 1-1

Four hours and counting .... the crowd is not going anywhere just yet.

This match has had the thrill that every fan hopes to see in the grand slam arena. You genuinely can not predict which way this match is going to go.

Zverev dropped the first game of the fifth and final set but managed to level when he served for the next game. Sonego is showing no signs of slowing down.

There is no denying that Zverev looks the stronger of the two on the court now.

There will be a short delay between the fourth and fifth set so that Lorenzo Sonego can receive some treatment from the tournament physios.

Physios are currently working on his forearm. Zverev is just wandering around behind the baseline.