Why Carlos Alcaraz’s new haircut is his ‘biggest weapon’ according to Patrick Mouratoglou
Carlos Alcaraz’s surprise skinhead haircut has been described as his “biggest weapon at the US Open” by coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Alcaraz was sporting a new look when he arrived at Flushing Meadows for the US Open as his usually thick brown hair had been reduced to a few millimetres following an ill-advised experiment with the clippers.
The Spaniard was asked why he was sporting the shaved head look and said it was his brother’s fault.
“Quite different I guess. I felt like my hair was really long already,” the five-time Grand Slam winner said. “And before the tournament I said that I really want to get a haircut.
“Suddenly my brother just misunderstood with the machine. He just cut it and the only way to fix it is just to shave it off. To be honest it’s not that good… it’s not that bad I guess.”
But while others have poked fun at the unfortunate haircut, Naomi Osaka’s former coach Mouratoglou actually believes it is another weapon in the 22-year-old’s arsenal.
“I think Alcaraz’s biggest weapon at the US Open is his haircut,” Mouratoglou said on Instagram with a smile, but going on to explain his reasoning.
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“I think it highlights his physicality and animality that defines him so well and makes him so scary for players. And I think it can have an impact.
“I mean, not that he needs the impact. Of course, he doesn’t need this impact on players. Everybody’s scared of him, except maybe Sinner and Djokovic.
“But the feeling that players can have about Alcaraz is reinforced even more by the hairstyle.”
Alcaraz was without his usual barber Victor Martinez who did not want to leave Europe to travel to the United States.
“New York is too far away for Victor,” Alcaraz explained. “I’m not really into hair at all. I’m the guy who thinks like, ‘okay hair grows,’ and in a few days it’s gonna be okay I guess. It just happened and that’s it.”
Alcaraz and his streamlined look will be across the court from Novak Djokovic next and, having lost four of their past five meetings, he has vowed to enact revenge on the Serbian.
“Novak, we all know Novak’s game. It doesn’t matter that he has been out of the Tour since Wimbledon. [He’s] playing great matches here,” Alcaraz said. “I know he’s hungry. I know his ambition for more, so let’s see. I know I played a lot of times against him. I really want revenge. That’s obvious.”
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