AFP
Carlos Alcaraz moved into the third spherical of the US Open with a 6-3 6-1 7-6(4) win over Lloyd Harris in a match confirmed an absence of sharpness from the Spaniard.
The crowd was on its ft after some dazzling photographs from the world primary however some worrying flaws have been additionally on show as Alcaraz piled up 29 unforced errors and confirmed an absence of focus at key moments.
Despite not being at his finest, Alcaraz was capable of depend on uncooked expertise to see off the 177th ranked South African however the 20-year-old might want to enhance shortly with rival Novak Djokovic on the prowl for a twenty fourth Grand Slam and looking for revenge for his Wimbledon loss to the Spaniard.
Under Arthur Ashe Stadium’s vibrant lights Alcaraz discovered himself underneath even better scrutiny after an unconvincing build-up to the season’s closing Grand Slam.
In two tune-up occasions his outcomes – reaching the Canadian Open quarter-finals and shedding to Djokovic within the Cincinnati closing – have been constructive however the performances less-than-convincing with seven of eight matches needing three units to get the job accomplished.
Of the 23 units performed eight required tiebreaks.
There was little to study from Alcaraz’s opening match on Tuesday towards Dominic Koepfer, which was minimize brief when the German retired with an ankle damage.
Harris is recovering from wrist surgical procedure and has seen his rating drop however the big-hitting South African is a confirmed hazard man, reaching the quarter-finals in 2021 and having a number of high 10 wins on his resume, together with one over Rafa Nadal.
There might be no room for complacency in third spherical for Alcaraz with twenty sixth seed Dan Evans ready within the wings.
