By Amy Tennery and Shrivathsa Sridhar
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Alexander Zverev weathered a storm from Lorenzo Sonego to reach the U.S. Open second round on Tuesday and keep alive his bid to reach a third straight Grand Slam final, after relentless rain wreaked havoc with the schedule at Flushing Meadows.
Americans Madison Keys, Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz earlier powered through under the roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium before new crowd favourite Alexandra Eala underlined her growing promise with
a near-flawless display.
French Open champion and Wimbledon finalist Zverev, handed top billing in New York in the absence of injured world number one Jannik Sinner, was taken the distance by Sonego but came through with a 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4 win.
"I'm just happy I won, that's it," Zverev said after four hours and 53 minutes on court.
"I'm happy that I won this battle and it was exactly what I needed ... good things happen after you fight through these matches."
Zverev was two points from defeat at one stage but kept his composure when it mattered to set up a clash with Quentin Halys.
Keys, the runner-up in 2017, was undone by debilitating nerves in the first round a year ago but found the right formula this time around in the main showcourt opener as she defeated Alina Korneeva 7-5 6-4.
"It's so hard to play the first round of a Grand Slam. So nervous and wanting to do well," said Keys, who meets Hungarian Anna Bondar next.
"So grateful I was able to fight through that."
FRITZ BACK TO HIS BEST
Ninth seed Fritz had an easy time in the second match of the day at the showpiece stadium, moving past 18-year-old compatriot Darwin Blanch 6-3 6-2 6-4.
The 2024 finalist had an up-and-down run-up to the year's final Grand Slam, winning in Washington before losing his opener in Montreal last month and making the Cincinnati quarter-final, but he was back to his usual best on Tuesday.
Fritz is among the top contenders to end a 23-year American wait for a men's Grand Slam singles champion after Andy Roddick's win at Flushing Meadows.
"It's super important for me," Fritz said.
"I'd be pretty disappointed in the end of it if I wasn't able to achieve that. In my life, any time I have set a big goal for myself, I've always done it."
At Louis Armstrong Stadium, men's fifth seed Flavio Cobolli survived a gritty encounter with Francisco Comesana 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 while women's fifth seed Mirra Andreeva advanced with a 6-2 6-2 win over Janice Tjen.
Gauff earlier beat Zeynep Sonmez 6-3 6-4 to begin her quest for a third Grand Slam crown before Eala, another of the hottest tickets of the day, mowed down qualifier Mary Stoiana 6-1 6-2.
RAIN LEAVES ORGANISERS WITH HEADACHE
Thousands of poncho-wearing ticketholders wandered around the grounds earlier in the day, as rain forced a long delay to the start of the action on the outdoor courts.
Among those closely followed was American teenager Thea Frodin, who served as the tennis-playing double for a young Serena Williams in the 2021 film "King Richard."
She earned the praise of the home crowd but did not get a Hollywood ending in her WTA Tour-level debut against second seed Elena Rybakina, who played down serious injury concerns with a clinical 6-3 6-2 win.
Lorenzo Musetti then followed on the largest of the outdoor courts with a comprehensive 6-3 6-3 7-5 defeat of Briton Arthur Fery, who made a surprise run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Alex de Minaur was slated to close out the programme on Grandstand against Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri but his was among several matches cancelled for the day when the rain returned in the evening.
Organisers will have to complete a total of 14 first-round matches on Wednesday, including those that were suspended.
French showman Gael Monfils celebrated his 40th birthday with a 2-6 6-1 6-2 6-0 win over Adolfo Daniel Vallejo to keep his farewell Grand Slam campaign alive.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery, Shrivathsa Sridhar and Janina Nuno Rios in New York; Editing by Pritha Sarkar, Toby Davis and Peter Rutherford)
