‘Pain-free’ Alcaraz brushes aside qualifier in US Open return after four months out

As Carlos Alcaraz edged closer to the conclusion of his first singles set in more than four and a half months, like so many times in his career instinct took over. Up 5-4, 30-15 in set one, Alcaraz swept forward to the net behind a precise wide serve and, when his opponent Roman Safiullin responded with a dipping backhand return directly to his feet, Alcaraz delicately pushed a half-volley over the net for a winner.

It was a gorgeous shot, a perfect example of the creativity and feel trademarked by Alcaraz that has been missed throughout his extended injury layoff. That touch of genius was followed, predictably, by a wide smile, a quick hold and a comprehensive victory as the Spaniard returned to competition with a stellar 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win against Safiullin.

With Alcaraz marking his return to competition at a grand slam tournament with no warmup or match preparation, there was a lot of uncertainty about his level and how his wrist might react to ramping up so dramatically to the best-of-five-sets format. The enormous ball striking of Safiullin, meanwhile, also made this a particularly curious first-round match as it was tough to say how exactly Alcaraz’s wrist would hold up while absorbing such pace.

All things considered, this was an incredibly positive start. From the beginning, Alcaraz shook off his own lingering doubts and lack of certainty about the wrist by eviscerating his own forehand, the best in the world, throughout the match. He struck it brilliantly from the outset, dominating from the baseline as he fired down 20 forehand winners to just nine forehand unforced errors. The few times he trailed in service games, he hit himself out of trouble.

“It’s pain-free right now,” Alcaraz said of his wrist. “I felt great. I don’t know how it looked from outside but, from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal. I was playing pretty normal, playing my style, and the arm, the wrist, everything felt great. I’m going to still take care of it, obviously, these days and before the matches and everything, but I’m just really happy it’s pain-free finally.”

The one curiosity, though, is Alcaraz’s serve. As was the case in the mixed doubles, where Serena Williams even served first in their second match, Alcaraz kept his speeds low, averaging just 113mph behind his first serve. Alcaraz has worn tape under an arm sleeve in all of his matches and practices, and it is logical that he should treat the wrist cautiously by not trying to serve as hard as possible so soon into his comeback. However, not being able to win many free points will have a bearing on how far he can go here.

For now, Alcaraz has no choice but to take things day by day and see how things unfold with so much uncertainty ahead. On his first day back – as his parents, brothers, his team and even the rapper Travis Scott watched on from his box – things could have hardly gone any better. “It was a difficult day for me, to be honest, but at the same time, a really beautiful one,” Alcaraz said.

“[I] started the day really nervous. Really, really nervous.