On Tuesday, it was glaringly obvious. Less mobile, less agile, and therefore less fierce, Carlos Alcaraz was never able to seriously challenge the impressive consistency and accuracy of Roman Safiullin. In just two straightforward sets, the Russian dominated (6-3, 6-4). This marks the first time Alcaraz has been eliminated from a tournament in the first round in the 2023 season, which clearly shows that he simply wasn’t at his best.
