Carlos Alcaraz admits wrist doubts despite 1st round win

Carlos Alcaraz marked his US Open return by beating Roman Safiullin in straight sets after four months out. The defending champion said he still had doubts over whether his wrist and body would last the match.Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist injury. (Photo: Reuters)Carlos Alcaraz made a winning return to Grand Slam singles action at the US Open, beating Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday. But the defending champion admitted there were moments when he was unsure whether his wrist and body would carry him through his first competitive singles match in more than four months.The second seed had not played a tour-level singles match since April after a wrist injury forced him to miss the French Open and Wimbledon. Speaking after his win over Safiullin, Alcaraz said the long-awaited comeback had been accompanied by plenty of uncertainty."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."The Spaniard acknowledged that his biggest concern going into the match was not his tennis, but whether his wrist and fitness would withstand the demands of a Grand Slam contest. ALCARAZ HAS DOUBTS OVER WRIST"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."Those concerns never became a major issue on court. Alcaraz dealt with pressure from Safiullin, recovered from an early break in the second set and eventually closed out the match in straight sets. "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."MENTAL TEST PASSEDFor Alcaraz, getting through the nerves and uncertainty was almost as important as the result itself. After such a lengthy layoff, the defending champion was pleased with how he handled the doubts that inevitably came with his comeback."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 face Portugal's Jaime Faria in the second round. Faria defeated American Jenson Brooksby in his opening match and now awaits the defending champion as Alcaraz continues his title defence in New York.- EndsPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 07:34 IST