Carlos Alcaraz Makes Winning US Open Return as Aryna Sabalenka Advances/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Carlos Alcaraz defeated Roman Safiullin in straight sets in his first singles match since a right wrist injury sidelined him in April. Two-time defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka opened her bid for a third consecutive U.S. Open title with a victory over Camila Osorio. Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek and Frances Tiafoe also advanced, while Arthur Fils was upset and Stan Wawrinka played his final Grand Slam match.
Quick Look
- When. 2 Carlos Alcaraz beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
- Alcaraz reported no wrist or arm pain during his return.
- He had not played a singles match since April.
- Aryna Sabalenka defeated Camila Osorio 6-4, 6-4.
- Sabalenka is seeking her third consecutive U.S. Open championship.
- Naomi Osaka won in two tiebreakers, while Iga Swiatek and Sloane Stephens also advanced.
- Stefanos Tsitsipas upset No. 10 Arthur Fils in four sets.
- Ben Shelton recovered from a poor opening set to defeat Tallon Griekspoor.
- Frances Tiafoe beat fellow American Martin Damm in five sets.
- Matteo Berrettini ended Stan Wawrinka’s final Grand Slam appearance.
- Emma Navarro defeated Lois Boisson in a three-set match completed after a rain delay.
Deep Look
Alcaraz makes a successful return
Carlos Alcaraz returned to Grand Slam singles competition Monday with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Roman Safiullin in the first round of the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Spaniard had not played a singles match since April because of a right wrist injury that forced him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.
Although Alcaraz showed some early nerves, he appeared increasingly comfortable as the match progressed. Most importantly, the 23-year-old said his wrist and arm felt normal.
“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 displayed the varied shot-making that has made him popular with the New York crowd. He encouraged spectators to cheer more loudly and celebrated a volley winner with a fist pump during the final game.
Spaniard returns without a warmup tournament
Alcaraz entered the U.S. Open without playing a warmup event, stepping directly back into best-of-five-set competition after several months away.
“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.
He emphasized that he arrived in New York without knowing how far his body would allow him to progress.
“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.”
Alcaraz is trying to become the first man since Roger Federer to win consecutive U.S. Open titles. Federer captured five straight championships between 2004 and 2008.
Men’s draw opens after Djokovic’s early exit
If Alcaraz remains healthy, he could emerge as an even stronger favorite after two major developments reshaped the men’s tournament.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew because of a knee injury, while fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic lost in the opening round Sunday. It was Djokovic’s first first-round defeat at the U.S. Open after beginning his career 19-0 at that stage of the tournament.
Djokovic has won four U.S. Open championships and holds the men’s record with 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, is seeking his eighth major championship and his third U.S. Open title.
Sabalenka begins pursuit of historic three-peat
Aryna Sabalenka restored some predictability to Arthur Ashe Stadium by defeating Camila Osorio 6-4, 6-4.
The two-time defending champion is attempting to become the first player to win three consecutive U.S. Open singles titles since Serena Williams accomplished the feat from 2012 through 2014.
Sabalenka has reached the women’s final in each of the past three years. She lost to Coco Gauff in 2023, defeated Jessica Pegula for the 2024 championship and beat Amanda Anisimova last year to retain the title.
“I feel like this is one of my favorite stadiums,” Sabalenka told the crowd. “I really experienced the best emotions here in this stadium.”
Sabalenka responds after difficult summer
The victory was an encouraging start for Sabalenka following several disappointing tournaments. She exited in the fourth round at Wimbledon, Toronto and Cincinnati.
Her recent results have also placed her No. 1 ranking in jeopardy. Second-ranked Elena Rybakina will overtake her by reaching the semifinals. Rybakina could also become No. 1 without winning a match if Sabalenka does not successfully defend her championship.
Sabalenka wore an orange Nike outfit covered with orange mesh Monday. The design differed from the black mesh she wore during her mixed-doubles match with Djokovic, which drew criticism on social media.
Sabalenka dismissed the criticism and explained that she had not initially realized Nike had designed separate outfits for daytime and nighttime matches.
“To be honest, I didn’t know that I have a day dress,” she said. “I thought I have a black dress with orange underneath. I figured (out) when I went to Nike that I actually have day session and night session, which is just like black and orange for the day.”
Osaka and former champions advance
Several former U.S. Open champions advanced through the first round.
Eighth-seeded Iga Swiatek and 2017 champion Sloane Stephens won their matches. Two-time champion Naomi Osaka prevailed in two tiebreakers while wearing an outfit inspired by former NBA star Allen Iverson.
Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, seeded sixth, also advanced. No. 7 Karolina Muchova and No. 10 Amanda Anisimova joined her in the second round.
Sara Bejlek, the 28th seed who upset Sabalenka in Cincinnati, was eliminated in three sets by Cristina Bucsa.
Wawrinka plays final Grand Slam match
Stan Wawrinka’s Grand Slam career ended with a loss to Matteo Berrettini.
The 41-year-old Swiss player won three major singles titles, including the 2016 U.S. Open. He had announced that the tournament would be his final Grand Slam before retirement.
“I’m going to miss it for sure. I’m going to miss it big time,” Wawrinka said.
Tsitsipas upsets Cincinnati champion Fils
Stefanos Tsitsipas produced one of Monday’s most notable upsets, defeating 10th-seeded Arthur Fils 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-4.
Fils arrived in New York after winning the Cincinnati Open, while Tsitsipas entered the U.S. Open unseeded for the first time.
The Greek player was previously ranked No. 3 and reached two Grand Slam finals, losing both to Djokovic. Asked whether he could return to that level, Tsitsipas replied: “Why not?”
Shelton and Tiafoe survive difficult openers
Eighth-seeded Ben Shelton recovered from a poor beginning to defeat Tallon Griekspoor 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Shelton was broken three times during a 28-minute opening set but quickly reversed the momentum and controlled the rest of the match.
No. 11 Frances Tiafoe also advanced, rallying to defeat fellow American Martin Damm in five sets.
Navarro wins rain-delayed match
Emma Navarro, the No. 26 seed, completed a 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-3 victory over Lois Boisson.
The first-round match began Sunday but was suspended because of rain and completed Monday.
After Navarro celebrated the victory by pumping her fist toward the crowd, an ESPN camera showed Boisson repeatedly smashing her racket against the court behind her.
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