By Rory Carroll
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fourth seed Alexander Zverev hardly broke sweat despite the sweltering U.S. Open heat on Tuesday as the German dispatched Canadian lucky loser Peter Polansky 6-2 6-1 6-2 in a first-round match that lasted just over an hour and a half.
The 21-year-old won 83 percent of his first serves, fired 10 aces and never faced a break point as he cruised past Polansky and set up a second-round showdown with Nicolas Mahut of France.
"I played well from start to finish," Zverev said in an on-court interview. "It's never easy and obviously the conditions are tough for everyone because of the heat and humidity.
"Tennis is very tough sport."
The loss ends a remarkable run for Polansky who this year became the first player ever to qualify for all four Grand Slam tournaments as a lucky loser, although he fell in the first round of all of them.
The lucky loser is a player who has lost during qualifiers but makes the main draw because of a withdrawal and has his name picked at random.
Zverev's win was his first at a major under the tutelage of former world number one Ivan Lendl.
"Thanks to him for joining my team," said Zverev, who many pundits believe has the best chance of any of the young crop of men's players to make a deep run at the tournament.
"Hopefully this match is the beginning for us."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Ken Ferris)