Carlos Alcaraz left Yoshihito Nishioka feeling flustered on the court (Image: Getty)
left his opponent feeling so flustered that he asked his coach to play.
The world No. 3 stormed past Yoshihito Nishioka for the loss of his five games in their second-round clash at the .
Alcaraz’s new service motion paid off – he even joked that he was a “servebot” – but it left Nishioka in a spot of bother.
The four-time Major winner needed an hour and 21 minutes to advance with a 6-0 6-1 6-4 victory on Wednesday. Alcaraz has been working on his serve during the off-season, and it showed during the match. He won 100 per cent of first-serve points in the first set.
Nishioka looked defeated as Alcaraz hit just one unforced error in the opening set. And the Spaniard continued his ruthless attack in set two, breaking again to race into a 3-0 lead.
By that point, the world No. 65 had enough. Players’ coaching teams can now sit in a courtside pod on the main three show courts and Nishioka walked over to his camp, asking his coach: “Do you want to try?”
But the Japanese ace couldn’t swap places with his team and was forced to continue the match. When he finally got a game on the board, he celebrated wildly and encouraged the crowd to cheer him on.
Carlos Alcaraz dropped just five games in his second-round match (Image: Getty)
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The world No. 3 laughed but quickly returned to business, reeling off three more games to take a 6-0 6-1 lead. Nishioka stepped it up in the third set but he was still no match for Alcaraz, who quickly secured one more break and finished off the job.
Afterwards, the 21-year-old celebrated his success on serve with an unusual camera message. “Am I a servebot now?” Alcaraz wrote on the lens. He later posted the same question on social media.
Alcaraz and his team spent the off-season trying to improve the shot to take care of weaknesses in his game. And the Spaniard is clearly feeling good about the new motion.
“Yesterday I was really focused on the serve in the practice. I spent more time serving yesterday,” he said after beating Nishioka.
“I talk with Juan Carlos what I have to do today in the serve, what I did wrong, what I did great from the first match serving. Just improve a little bit.
“I felt more comfortable on it, yes. I think the serve is about confidence and feelings. Today I felt great. The throw of the ball was great today, which it helps a lot in the serve today. I think yesterday practice was really helpful for today.”
Alcaraz is on a quest to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam. After leaving Nishioka feeling overwhelmed, he will try to do the same against Nuno Borges in the third round.