Zverev seeking improvement after first-round scare, Gauff set for Badosa test

[p]But the German will surely be hoping for an easier ride against 52nd-ranked Frenchman [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Quentin Halys[/a] in the second round on Thursday.[/p][p][b]French Open winner Zverev again anchors the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where two-time champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osaka-naomi/MDM4BKiA/"]Naomi Osaka[/a] and US contenders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Coco Gauff[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fritz-taylor/UH09iaZ6/"]Taylor Fritz[/a] are also in action.[/b][/p][p]French veteran [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-gael/fm7G8o0m/"]Gael Monfils[/a], fresh off a first-round victory on his 40th birthday, will try to keep his final Grand Slam going against American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tien-learner/xUHOBJK6/"]Lerner Tien[/a] and Australian Open champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a] - who can seize [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a]'s world number one ranking with a run to the semi-finals - faces Spain's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bouzas-maneiro-jessica/Gj20DdaG/"]Jessica Bouzas[/a].[/p][p]AFP Sport looks at three matches to watch on Day 5 of the US Open:[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/halys-q-EDve8Ljh/zverev-a-dGbUhw9m/?mid=QcuRK9Y9"]Alexander Zverev vs Quentin Halys[/a][/h2][p][b]Zverev leads head to head 1-0[/b][/p][p]Zverev labored for four hours and 53 minutes to subdue [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sonego-lorenzo/zVuMEJTT/"]Sonego[/a] in a wild five-setter lasting until nearly two in the morning. He said there was "definitely room for improvement" but he didn't grudge the effort.[/p][p]After capturing his long-awaited first Grand Slam at Roland Garros and reaching the final at Wimbledon, the German has struggled on the hard courts of North America.[/p][embed guid="1e6b4b5a-a0ef-4461-b447-281e964c67ca" url="https://x.com/SchedulesTennis/status/2095277086613135694" social-type="twitter" /][p]The protracted tussle with Sonego, which ended in Zverev's seventh victory in seven matches against the Italian, was a valuable test, he said.[/p][p][b]"Overall I think it was a great, tough battle, and I think it was a match that I needed after the last couple of weeks."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/halys-quentin/EDve8Ljh/"]Halys[/a], who won his first career title at Kitzbuehel in July, is also battle-tested. He beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diaz-acosta-facundo/AsRYv2m2/"]Facundo Diaz Acosta[/a] in four sets for his first first-round victory at the US Open in five main draw appearances.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/badosa-gibert-paula-Wl76rX3I/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/?mid=OEWuF94T"]Paula Badosa vs Coco Gauff[/a][/h2][p][b]Badosa leads head to head 5-3[/b][/p][p]Gauff, whose two Grand Slam titles include her maiden major at the US Open, looked in fine form in a brisk first-round victory, but the 23-year-old American has history with former world number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/badosa-paula/Wl76rX3I/"]Badosa[/a], now ranked 87th.[/p][p][b]Badosa's 5-3 record against Gauff includes a victory in Berlin this year, part of a resurgent summer for the 28-year-old Spaniard.[/b][/p][p]Badosa will be operating on short rest after her first-round match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kasatkina-daria/GU42elks/"]Daria Kasatkina[/a] was halted twice by rain on Tuesday and she had to return to finish it off on Wednesday.[/p][image alt="Recent H2H meetings" id="a7db9c8a-c4f8-4987-ad5b-b85e8ea50bd5" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0264e4ed-155b-430d-8b65-5b0047ee9f22" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]She had two match points that she couldn't convert before play was suspended and let slip five more when the match resumed on Wednesday before sealing the win.[/p][p][b]"We always say that tennis is mental, but this, I think, was another level of mental,"[/b] Badosa said of the agonising night she spent after failing to get over the line on Tuesday.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/monfils-g-fm7G8o0m/tien-l-xUHOBJK6/?mid=8pHDByLF"]Gael Monfils vs Learner Tien[/a][/h2][p][b]Tien leads head to head 1-0[/b][/p][p]Gael Monfils, heading into retirement after this season, celebrated his 40th birthday with a first-round victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vallejo-daniel/U5RiWEZu/"]Adolfo Daniel Vallejo[/a] on Tuesday in front of an adoring New York crowd.[/p][p]Now the French showman will try to extend the final Grand Slam of his career against 20-year-old American Learner Tien, who won his second career title in Geneva in May.[/p][p][b]Monfils will be out to avenge a loss to Tien last month at the Cincinnati Masters, where the American made it to the semi-finals.[/b][/p][p]The crowd could be torn on Louis Armstrong Stadium.[/p][p]Tien may be among the crop of American men aiming to end their 23-year-old Grand Slam title drought, but Monfils is a fan favorite in Flushing Meadows - where he has been delighting crowds for most of Tien's lifetime.[/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]