Carlos Alcaraz playfully accused of Frances Tiafoe “lying” after the American brutally claimed his new haircut appeared “terrible” at the US Open. The Spanish sensation shocked spectators when he emerged for his opening round clash sporting a dramatic buzzcut – a stark contrast to his trademark thick, dark hair.
Tiafoe didn’t hold back in expressing his views on the trim, labelling the new look ‘terrible’ during his press conference following his first round victory, having been spotted on camera gawping at the Spaniard’s transformed appearance in the changing room.
Following Alcaraz’s straight-sets triumph over Reilly Opelka, the young star seized the opportunity to hit back at the American’s criticism. His remarks came after he shared his thoughts on meeting golfing icon Rory McIlroy for the first time.
“Frances is lying,” Alcaraz declared. “Frances is lying. No, come on. Yeah, I saw the video. He showed up here saying that it is terrible. I know he’s lying. I know he likes the haircut. He like it. He told me. So no, not hear anything about coming from his mouth.”
Alcaraz went on to reveal that the dramatic transformation resulted from a mishap when his sibling attempted to trim his hair. He explained: “Quite different I guess, yeah. I mean, it was just I felt like my hair was really long already, and before the tournament I just really wanted to get a haircut.
“Suddenly just my brother just – he misunderstood with the machine. He just cut it. Then, you know, the only way to fix it is just shave it off. It’s just what he came, this haircut. To be honest, it’s not that – it’s not that bad, I guess (smiling). It’s just – okay, I’m not really into the hair at all.
“So I’m the guy who thinks, okay, the hair grows, and in a few days it’s going to be already okay, I guess. It just happened, and that’s it.
“Some people like it. Some people don’t like it. To be honest, I’m just laughing about the reaction of the people. It is what it is. So I can’t do anything else right now, so I’m just laughing about everything that they are talking about my haircut.”