Carlos Alcaraz opened his bid for a second US Open title with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over 6’11” American Reilly Opelka, the Spaniard earning one break of serve per set to take out the World No.67 in Monday’s final match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Opelka fired 14 aces and 33 winners but could not manage to keep Alcaraz at bay.
“You feel like nothing depends on you, it all depends on him,” Alcaraz said. It certainly didn’t feel that way over the course of the two hour and five-minute first-round contest.
The second-seeded Spaniard, sporting a new old-school crewcut, held in all 16 of his service games to improve to 18-3 lifetime at the US Open.
Alcaraz, who can reclaim the No.1 ranking with a title at the Open, improved to 55-6 on the season. He will face Italy’s Mattia Bellucci in round two.
