Carlos Alcaraz turned heads at the US Open on Monday night — not just with his tennis, but also with a daring new haircut — before sending Reilly Opelka packing in straight sets.
The 22-year-old Spaniard walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium under the lights sporting a close-shaven, military-style cut that quickly became the talk of the tournament.
While the style split opinions — with his friend Frances Tiafoe jokingly calling it “terrible” — the reigning champion brushed off the noise and delivered a commanding 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win over the 6ft 11in Opelka in the first round.
Alcaraz admitted afterward that the match was anything but simple.
“Today was a really difficult one. Reilly is a great, tough player. I couldn’t get the rhythm that I wanted to get but I’m just really happy with what I did today. I did a great performance today,” he said.
The buzz cut, however, wasn’t part of a style experiment. Alcaraz revealed it happened by accident when his brother’s attempt to tidy up his hair went wrong.
“My brother just misunderstood the machine. He just cut it. Then, you know, the only way to fix it is just shave it off. To be honest, it’s not that bad, I guess.
“Some people like it. Some people don’t like it. To be honest, I’m just laughing about the reactions of the people,” Alcaraz said.
On court, the world No. 1 showed his usual composure. He broke Opelka midway through the first set and protected his lead to claim it. In the second, after fending off break points, Alcaraz pounced late to move two sets up.
The third set followed a similar pattern, with the Spaniard breaking in the ninth game before sealing the match with a scorching forehand winner down the line.
Alcaraz, who lifted his first major at Flushing Meadows two years ago, advances to face Italy’s Mattia Bellucci in the next round.
