Carlos Alcaraz hoping to match ‘amazing’ Roger Federer feat at US Open
Carlos Alcaraz has continued his 100% record of reaching the third round at the US Open, as he eyes a Roger Federer achievement that hasn’t been done since 2008.
Alcaraz beat former US Open quarter-finalist Lloyd Harris, 6-3 6-1 7-6(4), on Arthur Ashe Stadium and the defending champion was particularly pleased with his mental resilience.
“I played a great match from the beginning of the match until the last ball,” said Alcaraz. “If I have to pick out something I think I played a good second set without many mistakes and playing my game.”
He continued, “I did have a bad game in the third set when I got broken and I had to forget it. I stayed strong mentally and played a great return game to break back. It was very important for me to get another straight-sets win in the first rounds.”
Alcaraz came into the tournament looking to become the first man to defend the men’s US Open singles title since Federer in 2008, who had won the title in New York for a fifth consecutive time.
The Spaniard has often referred to Federer as his idol and revealed what it would mean to follow in his footsteps, “Sharing that feat with Roger would be amazing.”
Alcaraz now moves onto the third round, where he will play against British No.2 Dan Evans, who he is yet to lose a set against in their two previous meetings.
Carlos Alcaraz and his potential run to retaining the US Open title
As Alcaraz looks to make more history in New York, we at Tennishead have provided a potential draw for the world No.1 (based off rankings):
First Round – Beat Dominik Koepfer, 6-2 3-2 (retired)
Second Round – Beat Lloyd Harris, 6-3 6-1 7-6(4)
Third Round – Dan Evans (26)
Fourth Round – Cameron Norrie (16)
Quarter-final – Jannik Sinner (6)
Semi-final – Daniil Medvedev (3)
Final – Novak Djokovic (2)
83 – With victory over Lloyd Harris, Carlos Alcaraz has now moved to 83% at Grand Slams. Moving ahead of Rafael Nadal (82.5%), Alcaraz is now third in the Open Era for GS win rate before turning 21 – min. 10 matches. Star.#USOpen #USOpen2023 | @usopen @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/QzDkV7dbi4
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 1, 2023
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