Carlos Alcaraz was barely recognised when he stepped into court against Reilly Opelka for his first round match, The US Open. His usual bushy mop haircut was replaced by an unexpected, talked-about cut as a result of a pre-match accident involving his brother.
Woven a purple Nike kit, Alcaraz dispatched the American 6-4, 7-5, and 6-4 before diving into questions about his appearance.
“I think it’s completely different,” Alcaraz said. “I mean, it…it felt like my hair was really long, and before the tournament I said I really wanted to have a haircut. All of a sudden my sibling just cut it.
Victor Martinez, the regular barber of Alcaraz, who lives in Spain, could not cut his hair.
“New York is too far for Victor. I’m not a hair at all,” Alcaraz said. “I’m the kind of person who thinks, ‘It’s fine, my hair will grow.’ I think it’ll be fine in a few days. That’s just happened. ”
Alcaraz lost a breakpoint and earned 86% of his first service points against Opelca. He ended up with 17 forced errors with 23 winners. Alkaraz said he “feeled faster” in the buzz cut before praising his opening opponent.
“Opelka is a very tough opponent and a big serve. He won’t let you meet,” Alcaraz said. “It was hard to get a good rhythm and good feelings from the bassline, so I tried to get back to it, play the longest possible points and get a good rhythm and good feelings.
“So it was a difficult first round, but overall I’m really happy with how I managed everything I played today. Good returns, good points from the baseline, good serve.
Alcaraz is one of his pre-tournament favorites, aiming for his fifth Grand Slam. The Spaniard will face 24-year-old Mattia Bellucci in the second round for the first time in his career.
