Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returned to Grand Slam singles competition with a straight-sets victory over Roman Safiullin in the US Open first round in New York on Monday. The 23-year-old Spaniard won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium in his first singles match for 139 days, showing no visible recurrence of the right wrist injury that had kept him out since April.
Alcaraz had not played singles since the Barcelona Open and missed both the French Open and Wimbledon during his recovery. The official US Open website said the long absence left him nervous and unfamiliar with his normal match-day routine, while the Associated Press reported that he finished the contest pain-free. His only competitive appearance before Monday was a mixed-doubles return alongside Serena Williams during the previous week.
The ATP said Alcaraz wore white strapping on his right arm and eased into the match before producing a 95-mile-per-hour forehand winner to secure a break in the seventh game. He completed the victory in two hours and 22 minutes, saved five of the six break points he faced and repeatedly raised his level at important moments against an aggressive opponent. Reuters counted 20 forehand winners from the defending champion.
Safiullin had beaten Alcaraz in straight sets at the 2023 Paris Masters, and their career series stood at one win each before Monday. The Russian created opportunities on the Alcaraz serve but could not turn most of them into breaks. Alcaraz grew more comfortable as the match progressed, encouraged the Arthur Ashe crowd and closed all three sets by the same margin without displaying physical distress.
The result extends Alcaraz's unbeaten record at major tournaments in 2026 to 8-0, according to the ATP. He completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open in January and is now attempting to retain the US Open title. ATP records list him as a two-time champion in New York, with previous victories in 2022 and 2025, and a 24-3 tournament record before this edition began.
Alcaraz will face Portugal's Jaime Faria in the second round after Faria defeated American Jenson Brooksby. The Spaniard's immediate priority will be testing how his wrist responds to repeated best-of-five-set matches, but his efficient opening performance provides an encouraging first measure. The tournament runs through September 13, and no man has successfully defended the US Open singles title since Roger Federer completed five consecutive wins in 2008.
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