Carlos Alcaraz’s accidental buzz cut is moving on at the US Open thanks to an easy-as-can-be victory in the second round Wednesday night, a year after he lost at that stage in the Grand Slam tournament.
The No. 2-seeded Alcaraz — who shaved his head after his brother messed up his hair — needed a little more than 1½ hours to beat 65th-ranked Mattia Bellucci of Italy 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Alcaraz won 86% of his first serve points and never faced a break point while accumulating a 32-11 advantage in winners. His four dropped games tied his fewest in a completed major match.
All in all, a far cry from what happened in the second round at Flushing Meadows in 2024.
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Alcaraz went into that one on a 15-match unbeaten run at major tournaments — thanks in large part to titles at the French Open and Wimbledon — but came out on the wrong end of a straight-sets defeat against Botic Van De Zandschulp.
There never was a chance of that sort of stunner against Bellucci.
“Yeah, I played great, to be honest,” said Alcaraz, who earned the first of his five Grand Slam titles at the US Open in 2022. “Today wasn’t his day. I tried to make the most of his mistakes.”
Alcaraz has won all 27 of his services games through two rounds at Flushing Meadows and has held serve in 32 consecutive games going back to the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open.
Wednesday marked Alcaraz’s 79th career win at a major, in his 19th Grand Slam appearance. Among men to debut in the Open era, the only ones with more match wins in their first 19 majors appearances are John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz will seek major win No. 80 on Friday against No. 32 seed Luciano Darderi. It will be their first career meeting.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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