Carlos Alcaraz will enter the US Open as defending champion and one of the favourites to win the title. Alcaraz was out of action for nearly four months due to a wrist injury; however, he returned to the court, partnering Serena Williams in the mixed doubles event.
Alcaraz has been doing intense practice sessions and is ready to defend the title. Ahead of the marquee event, Alcaraz acknowledged that he’s slightly anxious, but added that it’s more in the mind and he feels great.
“I need to come here to practise with these guys to feel the competition once again, and this is really testing,” he said. “I’m feeling great and… that helped me a lot to know right now that it’s all in my head,” told reporters.
Alcaraz returned to training after Wimbledon, but he chose to skip the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters, fueling speculation that he may also miss the US Open; however, Alcaraz said that his team had full confidence that he has recovered from the injury and is ready to go.
“I gotta trust my people that tell me that it’s gonna be fine. So I just have to go 100 per cent,” he said. “So I’m just trying to like stay away… from that fear.”
Alcaraz has been handed a tough opening contest against Roman Safiullin, who’s beaten Alcaraz before, and it’ll be a good test for the Spaniard to see where he stands after a long lay-off. If he goes beyond the third round, Alcaraz can face Tommy Paul or Alexander Bublik in the fourth round, followed by potentially matches against either Ben Shelton or Arthur Fils in the quarterfinal.
Rivals Not Writing Alcaraz Off Despite Lack Of Match Practice
Meanwhile, Alcaraz’s rivals are well aware of the defending champion’s class and expect him to hit peak form after a game or two.
“I expect him to be maybe a bit rusty the first or second match, but once he gets through that, I think he’s going to be a contender for sure here,” said .
American Taylor Fritz also echoed the same sentiments.
“Coming back after a layoff at a Grand Slam where men play three out of five sets is “not necessarily easy to do”, said American Taylor Fritz, the ninth seed.
“But, you know, if you can get past those first couple of rounds, you start to feel pretty good. Then at that point there’s no reason why he couldn’t, you know, find form and play really well. Who knows?”