Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the US Open third round with a commanding straight-sets win over Italy’s Mattia Bellucci at Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York.
The Spaniard, seeded second, needed just an hour and 36 minutes to post a dominant 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 victory, showing once again why he remains a major favourite in New York.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Mattia Bellucci: Fast start from the Spaniard
Alcaraz set the tone with his aggressive groundstrokes and fast-paced play from the opening game. He stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first set, breaking Bellucci twice and hardly giving the Italian room to breathe.
Within no time, the set was wrapped up 6-1, and the Arthur Ashe crowd knew it was going to be a long night for the lower-ranked challenger.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Mattia Bellucci: Brutal bagel in the second set
If the first set was quick, the second was brutal. Alcaraz was untouchable on serve, barely dropping a point, while breaking Bellucci three times to hand him a painful 6-0 set.
This was the ninth time in his young career that Alcaraz has delivered a bagel at the Grand Slams, underlining just how clinical he can be when locked in.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Mattia Bellucci: Bellucci’s brief fightback
The Italian finally found some rhythm in the third set, holding his ground better and even reaching 3-3 after six games. For a moment, it seemed like Bellucci might at least push the contest into a tighter finish, but Alcaraz quickly closed the door.
At 3-3, Alcaraz raised his level again, breaking Bellucci in the seventh and ninth games to close out the match 6-3. The Spaniard ended the night with 32 winners and 23 unforced errors, also showing sharp touch at the net and never facing a single break point.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Mattia Bellucci: Gulf between two players
The stats reflected the gulf between the two players. Alcaraz won 37 more points than Bellucci, converted seven of 17 break opportunities, and completely shut down his rival’s serve, with the Italian losing more than half the points on his delivery. With the win, Alcaraz improved his career record at the US Open to an impressive 19-3.
For Alcaraz, it was the perfect tune-up ahead of tougher battles to come.