On the court, Alcaraz seemed unfazed by the added attention from his haircut. He needed just over two hours to see off the towering, big-serving Opelka in Arthur Ashe Stadium and kick off his pursuit of a sixth grand slam title and second at the US Open.

After impressing in a 6-4 7-5 6-4 victory, Alcaraz quizzed the crowd on his new look, earning loud cheers when he said: "I've got to ask to the people if they like the new haircut or not. Do you like it guys? I think they like it."

When Alcaraz arrived at the US Open practice courts on Tuesday, his full head of hair was missing, replaced with a buzz cut.