new york: Carlos Alcaraz showed up at the US Open for his first-round match with a new look: a shaved head.
Alcaraz, who is seeded No. 2 at Flushing Meadows, caused a bit of a buzz with his buzz cut when he got to the tournament grounds before heading out to beat big-serving Reilly Opelka 6-4 7-5 6-4 in just over two hours at Arthur Ashe Stadium at night.
The 22-year-old Spaniard’s play, as is often the case, was a cut above. He made just 17 unforced errors, won 50 of 58 first-serve points, saved all three break points he faced, broke Opelka three times and improved to 19-0 in opening contests at Grand Slam tournaments.
Prior to playing, Alcaraz ran into golf star Rory McIlroy, who reached out his hand to rub the scalp’s stubble. When Alcaraz played in the US Open’s mixed doubles event last week, he did so with a full head of hair.
During the on-court interview after his win, Alcaraz tried to crowd-source opinions about the change.
“I got to ask the people if they like the new haircut or not. Did you like it, guys?” he asked the Ashe spectators. They roared their approval. “I think,” Alcaraz said, “they like it.”
At least one other athlete — and friend — did not think the new ‘do was all that sharp: Frances Tiafoe, who lost in the semifinals in New York to Alcaraz in 2022. That was the year Alcaraz won the title at the U.S. Open for the first of his five Grand Slam trophies.
“It’s horrible. It’s terrible. It’s definitely terrible. That’s my guy, though,” Tiafoe said when asked about Alcaraz’s haircut. “Funny, I looked and him, and I was like, I guess you’re aerodynamic.’”
Keys unlocked
Pretty much from the get-go at the U.S. Open, Madison Keys could tell she wasn’t hitting the ball well or feeling very much at all like the self-confident player who claimed her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
After 89 unforced errors, including 14 double-faults, the No. 6-seeded Keys was gone from Flushing Meadows in the first round with a 6-7(10) 7-6 (3) 7-5 loss to 82nd-ranked Renata Zarazua of Mexico.
That Venus Williams lost her first Grand Slam match in two years — and what she says will be her last match of 2025 — didn’t really matter.
Certainly not to the thousands of supportive spectators in the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats who roared for her best shots and, in a way, for everything her career means to them, before sending her off the court with a standing ovation after a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 defeat against 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova here.