Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the US Open after defeating Italy’s Mattia Bellucci with a dominant straight-set 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 victory here at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.
World number two, Alcaraz, the winner of the 2022 US Open tournament, set the tone of the match early by breaking Bellucci twice at the beginning of the opening set, displaying his strong forehand and nimble volleys, ensuring that his early withdrawal from the tournament last year would not happen again.
Alcaraz outclassed Bellucci in all three sets, making no mistakes to give his opponent a chance to recover. The audience cheered after the stellar performance by Alcaraz when he secured a second-round bagel.
Reflecting on his triumph, Alcaraz explained that he played great from the start till the end of the game.
“I played great from the beginning to the last ball,” Alcaraz said.
“I know Mattia’s level and today wasn’t his day. I tried to make the most of his mistakes, trying to be in the match getting a good rhythm.”
Bellucci found it difficult to keep up with the aggressiveness of the Spaniard from the baseline.
Alcaraz later stated that he had been thinking about his straight-sets defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the same point last year.
“If I’m honest, I thought about last year when I stepped on the court. Some bad thoughts,” he said.
“I was nervous about it, like thinking, okay, I don’t want to do the same thing as I did last year, losing in the second round.
Alcaraz will face Italian Luciano Darderi in the third round.
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