By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Carlos Alcaraz continued his perfect US Open campaign after sweeping Lloyd Harris- 6.3, 6.1, 7.6- to advance to the third round of the Grand Slam tournament last September 1, 2023, held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
After blanking Dominik Koepfer in the first round, the world’s no. 1 male tennis player racked up another sweeping victory to extend his dominant early phase campaign.
Alcaraz quickly established his mastery in the opening set after breaking Harris’ service possession midway through the first set.
With Alcaraz leading 40-15 in the game set while seeking to control the tempo of the match with a break-point, the young Spanish sensation unloaded a down-the-line forehand bomb to clinch a 5-3 advantage.
The 20-year-old Wimbledon king began his flawless performance with minimal unforced errors and only committed a single double fault in the entire three-set clash.
With perfect efficiency by toning down on his unforced errors while staying on course in the offensive department, this version of Alcaraz was a tough cover for Harris in just his second round trip.
Alcaraz showed no mercy and bullied Harris in the second set, only allowing him a single set-point generated from three break points scored in just 20 minutes.
Harris showed his best fight in the third and final set after dragging Alcaraz to a thrilling 5-all clash but during the final eight possessions, the Spanish star grabbed six of those and cruised to another convincing US Open win.
Alcaraz capped off his performance with 109 total points won, 40 receiving points won, and a jaw-dropping 19 consecutive set points won.
With the huge victory, Alcaraz will look to continue his quest for a back-to-back Grand Slam title as he faces Dan Evans in the third round.
