The Olympic champion in Tokyo, world N.3, won at the end of the night and three hours 19 minutes of meeting, 3-6, 7-6 (12/10), 6-2.
It was then 04:54 local time (11:54 French time).
Two other meetings in the history of tennis had previously ended beyond three o'clock in the morning.
The latest dates back to 2008 at the Australian Open and a victory by Australian Lleyton Hewitt over Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis at 04:34 in the morning.
If Jenson Brooksby, 21 years old and 47th in the world, won the first set, Zverev managed to save two match points in the tie-break of the second set before winning.
The German is back to success after his poor performance in Montpellier, where he was beaten in the final by Kazakh Alexander Bublik, world No.35 (6-4, 6-3) on February 6.
Zverev will face compatriot Peter Gojowczyk in the round of 16 in Acapulco.
© 2022 AFP