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via Imago

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via Imago

“Yeah, it’s horrible. It’s terrible. I mean, it’s definitely terrible. He’s my guy, though. It’s funny,” said Carlos Alcaraz’s friend, Frances Tiafoe. Why? Imagine having gorgeous wavy hair and suddenly chopping it all off for a buzz cut. Sounds horrendous, right? That’s exactly what Alcaraz did. Ahead of his clash with Reilly Opelka, he walked onto the court for a warm-up and stunned the world with a bald look that set the tennis community buzzing. And guess what? He’s finally revealed the truth; it was a mistake.

After defeating Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round, he sat down with the media at the presser. The very first question that came out of their mouths was, “What’s with that hair?” A buzz cut would have been fine, but this was more like a military cut, with little to no hair on top. Responding to the question, Alcaraz explained that his haircut was a big mistake; well, of course, he was laughing while revealing it.

“Quite different, I guess. I felt like my hair was really long already. And before the tournament, I said that I really want to get a haircut. Suddenly my brother just misunderstood the machine. He just cut it, and the only way to fix it is to shave it off. To be honest, it’s not that good… It’s not that bad, I guess,” said Alcaraz. The second question that was thrown at him was about where Victor, his barber, is.

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To which he stated, “New York is too far away for Victor. 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.” Back in May, Alcaraz flew his barber and friend Victor Martinez to Paris so that he could get a new haircut and Victor could watch some of his matches. “He’s free. I’m lucky he could come here to Paris, watch a few of my matches.”

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He further added, “I just told him he has to bring the materials to cut my hair that I need. I think everyone saw my hair, my beard… I had to do something about it,” said Alcaraz. Sadly, Victor wasn’t there this time to fix his ridiculous hair. As a result, he received some hilarious criticism from his peers, including his friend. Let’s take a look at that.

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Carlos Alcaraz gets hilariously called out by the tennis fraternity

Talking to the media, Alcaraz’s pal, Frances Tiafoe, stated, “It’s funny. I looked at him and I was like, ‘I guess you’re aerodynamic.’ Juan Carlos ‘Mosquito’ was laughing. He was like, ‘Yeah, he’s faster than he already was.’ I was like, ‘Well, that’s a problem. Yeah, I don’t know who told him that it’s good.” Tiafoe was just having the time of his life on the courts when he spotted his friend with that hairdo—and he couldn’t keep his mouth shut after that. It was absolutely hilarious.

If you think Tiafoe was the only one, wait until you hear what John McEnroe had to say. According to the tennis legend, Alcaraz just set fire to his style. “First of all, his haircut.. did he get the buzz cut from his hair stylist in Spain? He brought him in at Wimbledon. I’m wondering because you can get that for 20 bucks in the city.”

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Well, apart from his hair, it’s his performance that’s doing the talking. After winning his opening round, he’s on track for the victory prize—but will he be able to claim it? Time will tell.

For more US Open real time updates, head to our EssentiallySports Live Blog.

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