Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz enters the US Open third round on Thursday with an easy win of 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4) over Lloyd Harris.At the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy, when Alcaraz was 15 years old, Lloyd Harris used to train with the current world number one.Competitive third setThe South African gave Alcaraz a challenge in the third set, but the unstoppable force still easily won. With this win, Alcaraz continues his US Open winning streak to nine and improves his overall figure to 55-6 in 2023.Carlos closes it out in 3⃣! pic.twitter.com/a8NOW19qn2— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2023Alcaraz rated his performance as “great” but accepted that the third set was a letdown. After the match, he focuses on the positives.He said, “I think I played a great match. But obviously, in the third set, he started to play better. I got down a little bit. and added, I had to stay focused and stay strong mentally. It was pretty good for me, and to win in straight sets is really important in the first rounds.”Injury concernsDespite Harris declining ranking as he recovers from wrist surgery, the big-hitting South African has a history of being a serious threat. He advanced to the quarterfinals in 2021 and has victories over players ranked in the top 10, including one over Rafael Nadal.The match started off cautiously before Alcaraz started to gain control, winning the first set with a break to go up 3-2. He then started to apply more pressure, and with a second break, he won the set.Harris had a chance to force a fourth set before losing the tie-break 7-4 as Alcaraz maintained his lead in the second but lost focus in the third. He made 16 of his 29 unforced errors. With 26th seed Dan Evans waiting for the next round, Alcaraz wont have any room for such mistakes in the third round.
