Alcaraz makes winning US Open return after injury: ‘I had more nerves than usual’
Carlos Alcaraz returned to Grand Slam action with a straight-sets win over Roman Safiullin at the US Open, easing concerns about his wrist injury. The Spaniard said he felt completely pain-free and wants to enjoy the tournament. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka also won her opener, while Novak Djokovic’s early exit and Jannik Sinner’s injury boost Alcaraz’s title chances.
Carlos Alcaraz made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis at the US Open on Monday, and the biggest positive was that his injured right wrist felt completely fine.The 23-year-old Spaniard beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 despite missing the French Open and Wimbledon since April.“ I don’t know how it looked from outside, but from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal,” Alcaraz said. “I was playing pretty normal, playing my style, and yeah, the arm, the wrist, everything felt great.”
Alcaraz admitted he was more nervous than usual because he had not played a Grand Slam match for several months. Still, he said his main aim was to enjoy the tournament and see how his body responds.“ I had more nerves than usual, but just happy, because, for me, my goal here is to compete, to enjoy, and let’s see how my body’s going to react after the matches, after the competition again,” Alcaraz said.“ I don’t know how far I’m going to go in the tournament.
I didn’t know if I was going to lose this one, if I’m going to make the second round, final. I don’t know how far I’m going to go. But what I just really want to do is enjoy every time that I’m going to walk into the court feeling the energy from the people, feel the competition.” His chances of defending the title have received a boost after Novak Djokovic suffered a shock first-round defeat, while top-ranked Jannik Sinner is sidelined with a knee injury.Sabalenka starts title defenceTwo-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka also began strongly, beating Camila Osorio 6-4, 6-4.
She is aiming to become the first player since Serena Williams to win three straight US Open titles.“ I feel like this is one of my favorite stadiums,” Sabalenka told the crowd afterward. “I really experienced the best emotions here in this stadium.” Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas eliminated 10th seed Arthur Fils and was asked whether he could rediscover his best form.“ Why not?” Tsitsipas said.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates.
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