Carlos Alcaraz’s haircut rather than his tennis was the talk of the US Open as the second seed eased into round two in New York. The Spaniard arrived at Flushing Meadows on Monday ahead of his clash with Reilly Opelka looking almost unrecognisable after shaving his head. After impressing in a 6-4 7-5 6-4 victory, Alcaraz quizzed the crowd on his new look, earning loud cheers when he said: “I’ve got to ask to the people if they like the new haircut or not. Do you like it guys? I think they like it.” Alcaraz’s friend and rival Frances Tiafoe did not approve, though, with the American seen behind the scenes appraising the lack of locks. “It’s definitely terrible,” said Tiafoe. “He’s my guy though. It’s funny, I looked at him and I was like, ‘I guess you’re aerodynamic’. I don’t know who told him that it’s good. I don’t know who told him to do that, but it’s terrible.” In his press conference, Alcaraz revealed the real reason behind the cut, saying: “I felt like my hair was really long already, and before the tournament I just really wanted to get a haircut. “My brother, he misunderstood with the machine. He just cut it. Then the only way to fix it is just shave it off. It’s not that bad, I guess.” There were only positive reviews, though, for Alcaraz’s performance on court as he impressively maintained his record of never having lost in the opening round of a grand slam. Alcaraz seized his opportunities when they came on Opelka’s fearsome serve, avoiding the possible danger of tie-breaks to set up a meeting with Italian Mattia Bellucci. After clinching victory, Alcaraz used his racket to perform a golf swing – a nod to the watching Rory McIlroy. “Today was a really difficult one,” he said. “Really tough player, tough serve. I couldn’t get the rhythm that I wanted to get but really happy with everything I’ve done today. Overall I think I did a really great performance tonight.”