Carlos Alcaraz — with a new buzz cut — was a buzzsaw against Reilly Opelka, cutting down the huge American 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of the U.S. Open.
As it turns out, the close-cropped look was a familial fluke more than a fashion statement.
“I just wanted to get a haircut and suddenly my brother just misunderstood the machine. The only way to fix it is just to shave it off. And it just became this haircut. To be honest, it’s not that good,” said Alcaraz, quickly correcting himself to “[I mean] it’s not that bad, I guess.”
Freudian slip.
But the Spaniard had no slips on the court.
Alcaraz hit 23 winners against just 17 unforced errors.
He won a stellar 86 percent of his first service points against Opelka — one of the best servers on the entire tour — and didn’t lose a single break point.
Asked how the new haircut impacted his game, Alcaraz flashed a smile and replied, “I think I’m faster.”
The five-time Grand Slam champion was just agile enough and skilled enough to have answers against the hard-serving Opelka.
“Well, today was really difficult to get the good rhythm,” said Alcaraz. “Opelka is such a tough opponent, big serve. He doesn’t let you go on rallies. It was difficult for me to get the good rhythm and the good feeling from the baseline.
“So I just tried to return well, playing as long a point as I can and trying to get the good rhythm and the good feeling. So it was a difficult first round, but overall I just really happy with the way that I managed everything that I played today. Good return, good point from the baseline, good serve. So I just wanted to keep it going.
“[Tuesday] I will try to practice a little bit to get more rhythm. The next round is going to be with more rhythm, playing more point from the baseline. So let’s see if I’m going to get there. But right now I’m just really happy with the way that I’m feeling.”
The 6-foot-11 Opelka topped 140 mph on his serve, and hit 14 aces.
But Alcaraz was simply too good.
He advanced to face Mattia Bellucci in the second round.
He’s never faced the 24-year-old Italian.
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