Fourth seed Alexander Zverev beat a second lucky loser at the U.S. Open on Thursday, overcoming Nicolas Mahut 6-4 6-4 6-2 to reach the third round.
The German is bidding for his first Grand Slam title.
The 21-year-old won all of his five break points and thumped 10 aces and 18 winners to dispatch his French opponent in one hour and 49 minutes.
The up-and-coming Zverev has had a relatively easy road at Flushing Meadows after beating another lucky loser, Peter Polansky in straight sets in the first round.
He will expect his good fortune to continue when he meets unseeded countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round on Saturday, having won their last two meetings.
In the women’s game, fourth seed Angelique Kerber fended off a comeback attempt by Johanna Larsson to dispatch the Swede 6-2 5-7 6-4.
She punched her ticket to the third round of the U.S. Open.
The match looked like it would be a cakewalk for the 2016 champion when she cruised through the first set and took a 5-2 lead in the second.
But the hot and humid conditions appeared to wear down the 30-year-old German, who dropped five consecutive games behind shaky serving and a raft of errors as Larsson raised her game.
A 10-minute heat break ahead of the third set rejuvenated Kerber, who seized the momentum as she broke to take a 4-3 lead before smashing a forehand winner to end the 2-1/2-hour battle.
“I think we both really played on a really high level from the first point, tt was just one or two points that decided the match,’’ Kerber said.
The German said she struggled with fatigue but added that it was nothing new at the always challenging fourth and final Grand Slam of the year.
“Its always a battle here, especially in these conditions, you just have to take it point by point.”
Next up is a third-round meeting with 29th-seeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova.
Kerber has won seven of their 12 career meetings, most recently a straight sets victory on the grass at the Eastbourne International this year. (Reuters/NAN)
