NEW YORK — Canadian Peter Polansky has made tennis history by becoming the first player to advance to all four Grand Slams in a calendar year as a lucky loser.
Polansky, from Thornhill, Ont., was selected as a lucky loser for the main draw of the U.S. Open on Friday after losing 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 to American Donald Young in the final round of qualifying earlier.
Polansky was the third Canadian to advance to the main draws on Friday after Montreal teen Felix Auger-Aliassime and Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., won their final qualifying matches.
They'll join fellow Canadians Milos Raonic, Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil when the tournament begins on Monday. Shapovalov will face Auger-Aliassime, his friend, in a matchup of rising Canadian teen stars.
"It's great, just shows the great work we've been doing the last couple years, the federation but also the players," Auger-Aliassime said about the amount of Canadians that qualified for the main draw.
"I think it's good for the next generation to see... Canadian players going up in the rankings and the belief we can play competitive in these tournaments, so I'm very happy for it."
Polansky had a 50 per cent chance to get a lucky loser spot after Pablo Cuevas and Jared Donaldson withdrew.
Raonic was scheduled to play Donaldson, meaning he will now face a qualifier.
Bouchard became the lone Canadian woman to advance to the main draw with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Jamie Loeb.
The 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime, who won the junior U.S. Open in 2016, beat Gerald Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-0 to book a ticket to the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
"It's a special place for me, I've always played good here in New York and the support's been great all week. Hopefully I can keep it going in the main draw."
Bouchard dropped just seven games over three qualifying matches to clinch a sixth consecutive main draw appearance at the final Grand Slam of the season.
She was in control early against her American opponent on Friday, converting three of her four break point opportunities while scoring 31 points to Loeb's 18.
Bouchard broke Loeb twice more in the second set while not facing any break points herself to complete the comfortable victory.
Auger-Aliassime won 88 per cent of his points when he got his first serve in and out-aced Melzer 8-1.
Ranked 116th in the world, Auger-Aliassime raised eyebrows at the Rogers Cup in Toronto earlier this month by advancing to the second round, where he suffered a three-set tiebreak loss against Daniil Medvedev.
"I've been playing good the last three weeks on hard (court) so I think I can be a pretty complete player," said Auger-Aliassime.
Also Friday, Francoise Abanda of Montreal lost 6-4, 6-2 to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the final round of qualifying.
The Canadian Press
