Carlos Alcaraz thought the biggest challenge he would face in the early stages of this year’s US Open was the 145mph serves of his 6ft 11in first round opponent, Reilly Opelka. Instead it turned out to be his own brother.
Alcaraz wanted a haircut before the tournament and, in the absence of his usual barber, Victor Martínez, asked one of his brothers to give him a trim. It did not go well.
“I felt like my hair was really long already, and before the tournament I just really wanted to get a haircut,” the world No 2 told reporters after dismissing Opelka 6-4, 7-5 6-4 on Monday night. “Suddenly just my brother just – he misunderstood with the machine. He just cut it. Then, the only way to fix it was just to shave it off. To be honest, it’s not that bad, I guess.”
Alcaraz has flown Martínez to other tournaments, such as this year’s French Open, when he needs a haircut but felt the flight from Spain to New York was too far. So far, the verdict on his brother’s barber skills are mixed.
“Some people like it, some people don’t like it,” he said. “To be honest, I’m just laughing about the reaction of the people. It is what it is. I can’t do anything else right now, so I’m just laughing about everything they are saying about my haircut.”
One person who is not a fan is Frances Tiafoe. The pair could meet in the semi-finals after they won their first-round matches. Tiafoe described Alcaraz’s new cut as “horrendous” when asked about it.
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“I don’t know who told him to do that, but it’s terrible. From a guy who gets haircuts week in, week out, who prides himself on good haircuts, it’s horrendous,” Tiafoe said. “But at the end of the day, it’s Carlos, and that’s my guy. But yeah, he needs to get with me. He needs to get with me for sure.”
Alcaraz had his own thoughts. “Frances is lying. Frances is lying,” laughed Alcaraz. “No, come on? He showed up here saying that it is terrible? I know he’s lying. I know he likes the haircut. He likes it. He told me.”
There were fans of the Spaniard’s new look though. Masters champion Rory McIlroy met Alcaraz at Flushing Meadows on Monday and gave his verdict. “I like it,” he said. “It’s good. It’s a good look.”
Alcaraz, whose five grand slam titles include the 2022 US Open, next plays on Thursday, against world No 65 Mattia Bellucci. He said his hair grows so fast it may not be a talking point by then.
“Every time that I get a haircut, in two or three days it’s gone,” he said. “In three days you’re going to see another hair[style].”