ATP Tour

Faria, Alcaraz’s next opponent: ‘I want to see myself up there’

Jaime Faria did not know on Sunday night that Carlos Alcaraz would be waiting for him in the second round of the US Open.

The Portuguese star did, however, know that he had just lived through the kind of chaos that could serve him well against the defending champion. Faria was two sets up against home hope Jenson Brooksby on Stadium 17 when the atmosphere began to turn. Brooksby threatened a fightback and the American crowd roared into action, but the 23-year-old Faria eventually held on for a five-set victory and his first win at the hard-court major.

Now comes World No. 3 and defending champion Alcaraz, who on Monday defeated Roman Safiullin in straight sets in his first match since April after returning from a right wrist injury.

“The other player doesn't need a presentation,” Faria told ATPTour.com on Sunday, when he was still waiting to discover his second-round opponent.

With his victory over Brooksby, the 23-year-old Faria became just the third Portuguese player to win a main-draw match at all four Grand Slam tournaments, after Joao Sousa and Nuno Borges.

Yet as the match against Brooksby began to turn, Faria's mind went back to his only other five-setter, against Frances Tiafoe in the third round at Roland Garros this year.

Faria led Tiafoe by two sets before the American stormed back to win.

“Always against Americans,” Faria said with a wry smile. “I try to learn from all the experiences, [such as] the match against Tiafoe. Today, during the match, I was remembering it all over again… To have the match under control and then watch the other guy turn it, it's not easy.

“I was thinking back [to the Tiafoe match], but it's different because at that time there were different thoughts. I was thinking about bigger things like the fourth round [of a major] for the first time. Then, it was not the crowd. It was him starting to play very well. He was giving me no small errors.”

Faria has been making progress ever since he broke into the Top 100 for the first time last year, but in Cincinnati two weeks ago he offered another glimpse of his growing comfort on the biggest stages, defeating in-form Ben Shelton for his first Top-10 win.

Now at No. 72 in the PIF ATP Rankings, just two places off his career-high No. 70, Faria says his ambitions have changed.

“I think what made a big difference this year was more the mindset that I was putting on the work,” he said. “All the time I’m working very well on court and off the court, but not with the mindset that I want to be one of those guys. I want to see myself up there.”

Working with fellow Portuguese former player Pedro Sousa has helped reinforce that belief. Faria describes the addition of a new coach to his team as a mental refresh, helping him believe more consistently in a game he has long known can produce big results.

“I have some really good shots and I have done some good things in the past, but not consistently,” said Faria, who owns an 18-23 career tour-level record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “The key thing was to be more consistent during the whole year.”

That process has now guided Faria to a first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Alcaraz on Wednesday on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Spaniard, competing in his first tournament since April, is aiming to become the first man in history to successfully defend a major title on all three surfaces.

Faria has already made history at this US Open, but he is not interested in stopping there.

“Yes, that's a big thing for me, for Portugal, and for my team, because pretty much all of them I know I've worked with since the past are all Portuguese and players that used to play at this level,” Faria said when told he was the third Portuguese man to win a match at all four majors. “But to do this, it's a big thing for me.

“I want to keep going because I know I'm young and I can do greater things. Portugal doesn't have a big culture in tennis, so I just want to make history, but also just try to continue my process and let's see where it ends.”