Carlos Alcaraz Makes Triumphant Return at US Open After Injury Layoff

Carlos Alcaraz played a competitive singles match for the first time in more than four months and did not appear to miss a beat, prevailing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 over Russia's Roman Safiullin to begin his US Open title defence in New York.

Before the final Grand Slam of the season, the Spaniard hadn't played since the ATP 500 event in Barcelona last April, where he injured his right wrist. Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon and only made his competitive return last week, when he teamed up with Serena Williams for the US Open mixed doubles tournament, where they won one match. But the No 2 seed needed just two hours and 22 minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court to dispatch Safiullin and signal his return.

“It's been a really tough five months for me, so to be able to step into Arthur Ashe and be able to compete again … As I said before the tournament, I couldn't have decided to come back at a better tournament, here at the US Open, here in New York,” Alcaraz said. “It's a really special place for me, a special tournament for me.”

“I tried to enjoy as much as I can. I missed the crowd, the energy. I missed the competition. I missed everything, so I'm just really happy I was able to compete again.”

He admitted that he had “some doubts” about his readiness for Grand Slam tennis after his recovery. His second-round opponent will be Jaime Faria of Portugal, who beat Jenson Brooksby in five sets on Sunday.

In other matches, Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame No 10 seed Arthur Fils, while Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Ben Shelton also secured victories. On the women's side, Naomi Osaka advanced past Anastasia Zakharova, and Aryna Sabalenka defeated Camila Osorio.