More important than Alcaraz’s shaved head is his performance on the court.

Yesterday morning, the last match of the first round on day two of the 2025 US Open concluded: Opelka, the tallest player ever, challenged Alcaraz, the youngest world No. 1 in history, and was defeated in three sets with scores of 4–6, 5–7, 4–6.

Before the match began, media and fans predicted that the clash between the tallest player ever, Opelka, and the youngest world No. 1, Alcaraz, would be the most exciting and suspenseful first-round match of the 2025 US Open.

Born in August 1997 and standing 2.11 meters tall, American powerhouse Opelka serves like a cannonball and possesses a ferociously strong forehand. At the 2021 Rogers Cup Masters in Canada, he upset then-world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals to reach his first Masters final, but lost to then-world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the final. At the 2021 US Open, Opelka reached the fourth round on home soil. On February 28, 2022, he achieved his career-high ranking of No. 17 worldwide.

Due to frequent injuries, Opelka barely played for over two years until his comeback in July 2024. This season, he has shown flashes of brilliance, such as defeating Serbian star Djokovic in straight sets in the ATP 250 Brisbane quarterfinals, beating Czech rising star Machac in three sets in the second round of the Rogers Cup Masters, and easily overcoming Australian young talent De Minaur in two sets at the Cincinnati Masters, demonstrating strong recovery and competitive strength.

Because of this, fans were anxious about world No. 2 Alcaraz’s first-round match at the 2025 US Open. Facing such a tall and powerful opponent in the notoriously tough Grand Slam opening round increased the challenge and risk significantly.

However, Alcaraz’s debut at the 2025 US Open yesterday morning was stunning! In the first game of the opening set, he quickly earned a break point against Opelka but failed to convert it. In the fifth game, on his fifth break point opportunity, Alcaraz finally broke serve to lead 3–2 and went on to take the set 6–4, seizing the advantage.

Against Opelka, known for his lightning-fast serves and being the tallest player in history, the more impressive serving performance in the first set actually came from Alcaraz, the youngest world No. 1 ever. Remarkably, Alcaraz won all five of his service games in the first set without losing a single point, closing each game at love.

In the second and third sets, while saving his own break points, Alcaraz broke Opelka’s serve once in each set and won them 7–5, 6–4, defeating the powerful Opelka decisively and advancing strongly to the second round of the 2025 US Open.

Alongside Alcaraz’s impressive performance was his striking new look. Born in May 2003, Alcaraz turned professional in 2018 and appeared for the first time with a shaved head at this tournament, drawing considerable attention and surprise. It seemed many spectators and fans watching the live broadcast focused more on Alcaraz’s bald look and wondered why he suddenly became a “bald warrior.”

Spain’s Marca newspaper promptly reported that Alcaraz shaved his head suddenly, “cutting his hair to show determination, solely to conquer New York.” Sports gear analysts explained three major benefits of this look: reduced wind resistance to increase serve speed, preventing sweat from obstructing vision, and enhancing focus on return games. Some media and fans speculated that Alcaraz was emulating predecessors like NBA legend Michael Jordan and tennis great Andre Agassi, who after losing a Wimbledon final, trained with renewed determination to come back stronger.

However, fans think the media and public may be overanalyzing. The more likely reason for Alcaraz’s shaved head is the intense heat and sweat in New York. His trainer revealed that Alcaraz decided to shave his head late the night before his first-round match, finishing around 2 a.m. If it were truly to symbolize motivation after the 2025 Wimbledon final loss, he would have shaved much earlier, not just the night before his US Open opener. Alcaraz himself said, “Last week during training I complained about my messy hair, and my brother grabbed the clippers and said, ‘Let’s just cut it all off.’” So, Alcaraz’s bald look is simply that straightforward, nothing more complicated!

In any case, Alcaraz’s shaved head isn’t the main point; fans should focus more on his performance on the court.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Qicai Doufen)