Carlos
Alcaraz dominated the match against
Lloyd Harris and secured the victory 6-3,
6-2, 7-6(4) to reach third round at
US Open.
World No. 1
needed only 58 minutes to advance from his first-round match against Dominik
Koepfer, who retired with the score 6-2, 3-2 in favor of Alcaraz.
On the
other side, world No. 177 Lloyd Harris entered the tournament thanks to his
protected ranking (47) and defeated Argentine Guido Pella in the first round,
with a score of 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4.
The first
two games started off competitive, with both players saving break points
against them to maintain the balance. After an evenly matched start with a
16-point first game, the rest of the games didn't last more than five points.
Alcaraz
secured a break in the fifth game and then, with the score 5-3 in his favor, he
earned another break, clinching the first set 6-3. This also gave him the
opportunity to start the second set with a service advantage after forty-four
minutes of play.
In the
second set, once again Alcaraz saved a couple of break points against him in
the first game. In the fourth game, everything changed as Alcaraz won five
consecutive games, including two breaks, and secured a dominant 6-1 set win by
winning 64% of the points played.
The third
set saw 'Carlitos' being less precise, and this time Harris managed to secure
his first break on his seventh attempt, taking a 4-2 lead. The 2-time Grand
Slam champion didn't hesitate and immediately broke back in the following game.
The match
extended to the tie-break, and despite Harris's resistance, Alcaraz displayed
his expertise to secure the match in 3 sets with a score of 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4). In the
third round, he will play against the 26th seed Dan Evans, who defeated Botic
van de Zandschulp 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.