Carlos Alcaraz reflected on last year's early exit from US Open, where he was defeated by Botic van de Zandschulp at second round, one of the most shocking defeats in his career, that came shortly after losing the Gold medal in Paris 2024. This year, at the same stage, Alcaraz has been flawless in his victor against Mattia Bellucci, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3, in only one hour and 36 minutes, and remains unbroken including the first match against Reilly Opelka.
"If I'm honest, I thought about last year when I stepped on the court. Some bad thoughts. I was nervous about it, thinking, 'Okay, I don't want to do the same thing as I did last year'", the Spaniard said.
Maybe his rival, ranked 65 in the world, wasn't very threatening, but Alcaraz still set some goals to follow from first point to last, knowing how inconsistent he can be sometimes: "To stay aggressive all the time. Not having ups and downs in the match". Alcaraz won 58% of his first serve return points, which is something he says he has been training on. "If you make a really good return, you put yourself in the position of attack, which I really like being in the attack position as much as I can."
His next rival at US Open in third round will be another Italian, Luciano Darderi, ranked 34, the first time they clash.