Jannik Sinner’s verdict on Carlos Alcaraz’s new haircut as he looks back on their first US Open clash
Jannik Sinner has given his verdict on Carlos Alcaraz’s new haircut and it’s fair to say he is not impressed.
Alcaraz revealed he was forced to shave his head after his brother tried to cut his hair and made a mess of his efforts, with the Spaniard appearing to be unconcerned by his radical new look.
“I felt like my hair was really long already, and before the tournament I just really wanted to get a haircut,” said Alcaraz.
“My brother misunderstood the machine. He just cut it. Then the only way to fix it is just shave it off. It’s not that bad, I guess.”
Now his big rival Sinner has been asked whether he would consider shaving of his famous ginger locks and he was quick to give his answer, as he suggested Alcaraz will be keen for his hair to grow back in double quick time.
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“No,” was his swift answer to questions about the prospect of him taking to the court with a shaved head.
“For him, everything looks good. If it’s longer or even if it’s very short. I have a huge amount of hair. It is not a problem for Carlos. You will see, in a few days, his hair will be back very fast.”
Sinner powered into the second round of the US Open as he started his title defence with another clinical performance as he beat Czech Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in a flawless display on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
There were no signs that Sinner was affected by the illness that forced him to retire in his Cincinnati Masters final against Alcaraz last week and he was asked to reflect on his first iconic meeting with his big rival, as they met at the US Open in five set thriller three years ago.
Alcaraz won on that occasion, but Sinner hinted the duo are very different players now as they head towards a possible final in New York on Sunday week.
“You know, three years back I felt like we were getting to know each other obviously and in different ways, but we also didn’t know exactly what to expect in the future,” he added.
“It’s the same now. You don’t know what’s happening next. I feel like when we were very, very young, it was like a kind of match where you just go on court and just hit. Now I feel like we have to prepare tactically, we have to prepare it also emotionally and mentally.
“It’s everything different because in the past three years, we faced each other many times, and every match we play is different, if we watch the tactical side. So we make adjustments.
“But for sure it was an important match [US Open 2022 match] to see also that our peak is very interesting to see also from the outside. It was for sure one of the key matches, even if we were very young.”
Sinner and Alcaraz may be on a collision course to meet in a third successive Grand Slam final and on the evidence of his opening win against Kopriva, it may need a special performance from the Spaniard to stop the world No 1 from lifting another US Open title.
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