Carlos Alcaraz made a statement with both his style and his play at the U.S. Open on Monday, sporting a new buzz cut as he powered past big-serving American Reilly Opelka in a straight-sets victory. The second seed was in spectacular form, securing a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win to charge into the second round and begin his quest for a second Grand Slam title of the year.
While his tennis was flawless, it was Alcaraz's new haircut that became the talk of the tournament, drawing mixed reviews from the tennis world. Fellow player Frances Tiafoe humorously called it "horrible," while legend Maria Sharapova praised his confidence. Alcaraz himself had fun with it, asking the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd for their opinion during his on-court interview. “Did you like it guys?" he asked to a roar of approval, smiling as he said, "I think they like it."
On the court, the 22-year-old was all business. Looking every bit the championship contender, Alcaraz handled Opelka's towering serve with remarkable skill. After securing an early break to take the first set, he saved two crucial break points in the second before breaking late to take a two-set lead. He closed out the match with another late break in the third, finishing with an impressively clean stat line of just 17 unforced errors.
Despite the straight-sets win, Alcaraz acknowledged the challenge posed by Opelka's game. "Nothing depends on you. It always depends on him," he said, referring to the difficulty of returning the American's serve. "I couldn’t get the rhythm I wanted... but I’m really happy with everything. The return was one of the best things today. Overall I had a really great performance."
The victory maintains Alcaraz's perfect 19-0 record in the first round of Grand Slam tournaments. The 2022 U.S. Open champion will now look to continue his campaign when he faces Italian Mattia Bellucci in the second round. Bellucci advanced after his opponent, Shang Juncheng of China, retired from their match earlier in the day.
