Alcaraz secures second round berth at US Open with Koepfer's withdrawal

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the second round of the US Open after Dominik Koepfer retired with a score of 6-2, 3-2.

The Spanish tennis player began his journey at the 2023 US Open with the aim of defending the title he won last year. Alcaraz entered the first round knowing that he had already lost the world No. 1 ranking after Djokovic's victory, but with the mission of pursuing another Grand Slam.

Facing him was the German Dominik Koepfer, with whom he had no previous matches. The world No. 75 had strong weeks in the US Open Series with a record of 7-3 in northamerican hardcourts, including reaching the semifinals of the Los Cabos Open.

The match lasted less than an hour due to Koepfer's unfortunate retirement. In the first set, Alcaraz needed only 35 minutes to secure two breaks and save a couple of break points against him, taking a 6-2 lead.

In the second set, they played a lengthy 14-point game on Koepfer's serve, where he managed to come out unscathed. Alcaraz secured the first break in the third game with a score of 0. His opponent immediately defended his service, but couldn't continue due to physical discomfort and retired from the match.

Alcaraz performed excellently on his serve, with a 73% accuracy rate, winning 83% with his first serve and 67% with his second serve.

He was also aggressive in achieving 19 winners and only 6 unforced errors, a stark contrast to Koepfer's 11 winners and 17 unforced errors.

With this result, Alcaraz reached a record of 11-0 in first-round matches of a Grand Slam, with the US Open being where he has achieved the best results, boasting a 92% success rate so far and the 2022 title.  

In the second round, Alcaraz will face South African Lloyd Harris, who defeated Argentine Guido Pella in the first round with a score of 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4.