NEW YORK – Carlos Alcaraz walked back onto Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sept 4 looking just a little more covered up – and entirely on his own terms.
The Travis Scott x Cactus Jack Nike tank top that turned his first two rounds into a running joke across social media was still there, the loose brown fabric still hanging off his shoulders. But this time, there was a white undershirt beneath it, a thin layer of modesty for a player who suddenly felt he had shown more than he intended.
“I think I’ve been seeing too much of my nipples lately,” Alcaraz said, laughing in the press room after dismissing China’s Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
The 23-year-old didn’t blame Nike, his team or the collaboration. The call was his.
“I feel really comfortable with another shirt. So I think I’m going to stay like that,” he added.
The tank had become one of the early talking points of the US Open, in a year when fashion has been almost as closely watched as forehands and first serves. Alcaraz’s top, cut wide at the shoulders and loose around the chest, kept slipping and revealing more of his torso than he seemed to like. Clips and photos spread quickly, spawning memes and jokes, with former WTA player Eugenie Bouchard chiming in online and telling him to “put the nip away”.
The response didn’t rattle him. It amused him. But it also nudged him to tweak the look.
The tennis, though, has remained the main event.
Back from more than four months out with a wrist injury, Alcaraz has moved through the draw at Flushing Meadows with the kind of authority that once made him the sport’s standard-bearer-in-waiting. Through three rounds, he has dropped only one set, tightening his grip on each match as it has gone on.
Wu, a dangerous shot-maker on hard courts, never found a way through. Alcaraz controlled the baseline, dictated rallies, and turned defence into attack in familiar, ruthless bursts. The scoreline – 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 – told the story of a match that started competitive and ended one-sided.
Next Match
Now comes a step up in tension and quality: American 20th seed Tommy Paul.
Alcaraz has beaten Paul five times in a row, a streak that underlines both his tactical clarity in the matchup and his ability to raise his level when challenged. Yet he spoke about the American with clear respect, not complacency.
“He's a really talented player, really difficult one to play,” Alcaraz said. “I think he’s really dangerous for everyone on the tour. I’m really looking forward to playing him once again.”
The crowd will have its say. Paul, seeded and at home, will have the backing of a partisan New York audience eager for an American to crack the upper tier of the men’s game on this stage.
Alcaraz, though, has never shied away from a hostile arena. He tends to feed off it. The rallies get longer, the shot-making bolder, the fist pumps sharper. The fashion noise fades. The tennis takes over.
The tank top might now be tamed by an undershirt, but the edge in his game is returning at full force – just in time for an Arthur Ashe showdown that promises far more heat than any outfit could generate.
