Alcaraz admits wrist doubts after US Open first-round win
Carlos Alcaraz beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the US Open in New York on Monday, but the second seed said he had doubts about whether his wrist and body would hold up. The defending champion called the match his first competitive singles outing in more than four months and described a comeback accompanied by uncertainty.
Alcaraz had not played a tour-level singles match since April after a wrist injury forced him to miss the French Open and Wimbledon. "For me, it has been a really tough four or five months. Being able to step in here at the US Open and compete again, I couldn't have decided to come back in a better tournament than here in New York," Alcaraz said. "It's a really special place and a special tournament for me. I try to enjoy it as much as I can. I missed it. I missed the crowd and the competition."
He singled out physical concerns rather than his tennis when asked about his preparations. "The big question mark was how I would feel physically and how the wrist was going to hold up during the match," he said. "There were some doubts during the match, I'm not going to lie. I was wondering if I was going to last through four or five sets."
On court, Alcaraz managed Safiullin's pressure, recovered from an early break in the second set and closed out the contest in straight sets. The victory completed his return to Grand Slam singles competition after the prolonged absence.
Reflecting on his performance, Alcaraz praised his level but stressed the need for match rhythm. "I'm just really, really happy with the level that I played in my first match, my first official match since being out for four or five months," he said. "I'm really proud of it. But I need more matches and more battles. I need to get back into the rhythm of the tournaments and into the matches."
He also highlighted the mental challenge of returning from injury. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to get better and better after every day. But what I'm most proud of is that mentally I was able to deal with everything — the nerves, the doubts in my head — and just keep it going. I'm really proud of that."
Alcaraz will meet Portugal's Jaime Faria in the second round; Faria beat American Jenson Brooksby in his opening match.
