"Today I was not the better player on court" - Zverev admits following five-set victory over Herbert at Roland Garros

US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev had to dig deep on Wednesday during his second round match at Roland Garros, but eventually found a way to vanquish Pierre-Hugues Herbert and advance to the next round.

The sixth seed required five sets to overcome home favourite Herbert, escaping with a 2-6 6-4 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4 victory after four hours.

"I think I'm quite fit, to be honest. I feel like physically I'm okay. But sometimes I just feel like I find a way to win," Zverev said. "Today I was not the better player on court. I was not hitting my forehand better, not hitting my backhand better, not serving better. I was not doing anything better than he did. But I found a way, which was the most important. Sometimes I manage to do that quite well."

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The German has always struggled on the red dirt, as six of his 12 career victories in Paris have come in five sets.

"It's something that I worked on not in the matches, but outside the court, in the gym [during] the offseason and the training blocks that I did. It was for these moments," Zverev said. "You don't need to be lifting 170 kilos on dead lifts or 150 kilos on squats for three-set matches. That's not what you're doing it for. You're doing it for five-set matches, for the big moments like this. I think that the work has been done not on the court, but off the court."

The 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion is looking to reach a third consecutive quarterfinal at Roland Garros. Standing in his way is 2018 semifinalist Marco Cecchinato, who defeated Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3 6-2 5-7 6-2 earlier in the day.

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Sascha Survives 😅 @AlexZverev escapes Herbert 2-6 6-4 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4 in just under four hours. #RolandGarros

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