Carlos Alcaraz got his US Open campaign off to a flawless start with a straight-sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over America’s Reilly Opelka at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night.
Alcaraz, aiming to reclaim the crown he last won in 2022, needed just two hours and five minutes to see off the challenge of Opelka, who posed some problems with his booming first serve but never really looked capable of causing a seismic upset.
Rallies were short and sweet between Alcaraz and the big-serving, big-framed American, averaging fewer than three shots per point as both players raced through service games with unreturned serves and ferocious winners.
Alcaraz, who did not drop his serve throughout the contest, only broke Opelka once in each set but did enough to against a 6-foot-11 opponent capable of firing 140 mph aces.
The World No. 2 said Opelka’s big first serve made it “incredibly difficult” to find his rhythm throughout the contest, adding that Opelka’s style dictated the pace of the first-round match.
“Nothing depends on you. It all depends on him,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview. “(You just have to) try to be in the rally and try to win the points that he lets you. It’s really difficult to play against someone who doesn’t let you play the game you want to play.”
Alcaraz was impregnable on his own serve in the opening set, winning all 20 points on his own serve and making just one unforced error throughout the entire set.
The big-serving Opelka, meanwhile, didn’t do much wrong in the first set but came nowhere close to breaking his opponent as Alcaraz won all five of his service games to love.
Alcaraz made his move in the sixth game of the set, bringing up a double break point with a backhand winner. Opelka staved off both opportunities and saved a further two points before Alcaraz finally made the breakthrough on the fifth time of asking when Opelka missed with a forehand.
With Alcaraz landing a staggering 85% of first serves in the opening set, there was to be no doubt about him closing out the set with ease.
His level did drop in the second set, perhaps understandably given the meteoric level he reached in the opener.
The Spaniard’s first-serve percentage dropped to 65%, while his unforced error tally rose to eight, giving Opelka an opportunity to crack what had been an uncrackable serve.
The American produced arguably the shot of the game when he produced a stunning lob with the score level at 2-2.
Opelka even brought up two break points of his own – courtesy of back-to-back Alcaraz double faults – but missed both opportunities, with Alcaraz saving the first with a cracking forehand winner down the line before Opelka found the net with a forehand to bring the game to deuce.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, was suddenly struggling to create opportunities on the Opelka serve, and the set appeared destined for a tiebreaker as both players struggled to get a look at their opponent’s serve.
A stunning Alcaraz backhand winner to seal a hold at 5-5 would alter the course of the set, however.
The World No. 2 was visible sharper in Opelka’s next service game and promptly rattled off eight points in a row to take the set.
He could not carry that momentum into the beginning of the third set, however, and again struggled to create opportunities on the Opelka serve.
In fact, it was Opelka who had the first break point of the serve when Alcaraz double-faulted at deuce, but the Spaniard again sniffed out the opportunity in a flash.
Once again, both players raced through service games as the third set appeared to be hurtling toward a tiebreaker. Once again, a stunning Alcaraz shot altered the course of the set.
With Opelka 30-0 up on his serve at 4-4, there appeared to be little threat of Alcaraz forging a comeback. But Alcaraz’s demeanor visibly changed after he somehow produced a stunning cross-court passing winner from an impossible angle.
The 2022 champion seized the initiative and once again cracked the Opelka serve, bringing up a couple of break points and taking the break when Opelka produced an uncharacteristic double fault.
He would seal victory with a characteristically emphatic forehand winner on match point to book his place in the second round with the minimum of fuss.
