NEW YORK — Peter Polansky's luck ran out at the U.S. Open, while Eugenie Bouchard is moving through to the second round.
Polansky made tennis history when he completed the "calendar lucky loser slam" last week after being selected for a spot in the U.S Open main draw despite losing his final qualifying match. But his good fortune came to an end when he was drawn to play his first match against fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
The German star downed the 119th-ranked Canadian 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday in a first-round match that took just one hour 36 minutes.
In an evening draw, Canada's Bouchard downed Harmony Tan of France 6-3, 6-1.
Despite the result, Polansky's appearance in the U.S. Open main draw capped a curiously remarkable run at this season's Grand Slams for the 30-year old from Thornhill, Ont.
Polansky lost in the third and final round of qualifying at all four majors, only to advance by lottery to fill a spot in the main draw vacated by a withdrawing player.
While becoming the first player to complete the "lucky loser slam" could be considered a dubious achievement, Polansky has approached it with a sense of humour.
"I'd like to try getting in directly, just win the qualifiers and get in on my own this time,'' Polansky said in an interview with The Canadian Press before qualification in New York. "But if I make the last round of qualies there's always that chance for a lucky loser.
"And I think it would also be super cool, actually, if I get in that way. It will be in the record books for a long time and I don't think anyone's going to beat that."
Bouchard, ranked 137th, only needed one hour seven minutes to topple her 396th-ranked opponent. Including qualifying, Bouchard has won four straight matches at Flushing Meadows, but this was only her first victory in the main draw since 2015.
The Westmount, Que., native, who is the only Canadian in women's singles in New York, will face 103rd-ranked Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the second round.
The Canadian Press
