Jaime Faria was not aware that Carlos Alcaraz would be his next opponent at the US Open. The Portuguese was leading by two sets against Jenson Brooksby in the opening round of the New York Major. However, the home favorite was able to turn a corner and won the next two sets.

Eventually, Faria won the deciding set by 6-2 to set up his clash against Carlos Alcaraz.

“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 this win, 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.

Earlier in the season, Faria was leading by two sets against Frances Tiafoe in the third round of Roland Garros, but the American bounced 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.”

Currently number 72 in the PIF ATP rankings, Faria said he has higher ambitions to achieve on the tour.

“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.”

Faria will face Alcaraz in the second round on Thursday.