Carlos Alcaraz Returns Triumphantly to US Open
Carlos Alcaraz walks back into Arthur Ashe Stadium as if he never left, but the story of his opening night at this US Open is written on his right wrist.
Four months out. No French Open. No Wimbledon. A cloud over his title defence in New York. Then, under the lights and under scrutiny, he swept past Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-4 6-4 and reminded everyone why this tournament still feels like his territory.
Alcaraz back on the big stage
This was his first competitive singles match since April, when that stubborn wrist injury forced him out of Barcelona and then out of the European summer. No surgery, but no certainty either. Even his presence in the draw at Flushing Meadows felt like a gamble.
He admitted as much.
"There were some doubts in the match, I'm not going to lie. Thinking about if I would last the match, best of five, playing four or five sets," he said, already looking ahead to a second-round meeting with Portugal’s Jaime Faria. "I had a little bit of doubt, but I tried to forget everything and focus on the things I needed to improve. I thought about what would happen in the match and physically I felt really well."
The questions weren’t subtle. Every serve speed, every forehand, every backhand was measured against the memory of the player who tore through this event a year ago. From the moment he stepped on court, watched by rapper Travis Scott – who had a hand in the brown outfit Alcaraz wore – the radar guns and slow-motion replays were his constant companions.
Early on, Safiullin went hunting for that wrist. He created two break points across Alcaraz’s first three service games, forcing the defending champion to test his movement and his nerve. Each time, Alcaraz found enough. Not spectacular, not yet, but solid.
Then came the familiar shift.
At 4-3 on Safiullin’s serve in the opening set, Alcaraz tightened the screws. He broke in the eighth game, protected his own delivery, and banked the set 6-4. One clean strike, one clean lead. The kind of set that calms a physio and terrifies a locker room.
The second set tried to rattle him. Alcaraz was broken immediately, his timing briefly off, his margin for error shrinking. Safiullin sensed an opening. It didn’t last. Alcaraz broke back straight away, raised the tempo from the baseline, and once again pounced in the eighth game. Another 6-4. Another reminder that his best tennis is still built on sudden, ruthless surges.
By the third, the tension around his physical state had eased. An early break gave him control, and this time he never loosened his grip. The serve held firm, the movement stayed sharp, and the groundstrokes carried the same bite from first ball to last. Safiullin, a dangerous floater on any draw sheet, never found a way back.
For all the pre-tournament doubt, Alcaraz walked off looking like what he is: a defending champion who expects to be here deep into week two.
One potential threat in his half has already disappeared. Arthur Fils, fresh from lifting the Cincinnati Open title and tipped as a dark horse, fell in four sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas, 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-4. One obstacle down, many more to go.
Sabalenka starts her three-peat bid
On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka opened her own title defence with a straight-sets win that looked routine on paper and anything but in the heat of the second set.
She beat Camila Osorio 6-2 6-4, a scoreline that hides how hard the Colombian pushed once she settled. The first set was all blunt force and clean hitting from Sabalenka, who bullied her way through rallies and dictated from the baseline. The second turned into a test.
"Camila is a tough opponent but I was ready to do whatever it takes to get the win," she told Sky Sports Tennis. "I really enjoyed the atmosphere and support. A fun and tough match but happy to get through in straight sets."
That relief matters. Sabalenka arrives in New York with her form under the microscope after three straight last-16 exits – at Wimbledon, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open. For the first time since October 2024, her world No 1 ranking is genuinely vulnerable. Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula all have a chance to knock her off the summit.
This, though, is her terrain. All four of her Grand Slam titles have come on hard courts. The bounce suits her, the pace suits her, and when the power flows, very few can live with her over two sets, let alone three. Against Osorio, the raw force returned often enough to send a clear message: she is not giving up this title without a fight.
Muchova, Anisimova and a strong American start
Karolina Muchova, last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, has the kind of all-court game that always threatens a deep run in New York. She began in style, dismantling Austria’s Sinja Karus 6-3 6-0, a performance that grew more one-sided with every game as her variety and precision took over.
Last year’s US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova also made a confident start, beating fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 6-1 6-3. She was one of four home winners in the women’s draw on Monday, joined by Emma Navarro, Taylor Townsend and Cate McNally, all of whom advanced to the second round and gave the New York crowd plenty to cheer.
British grit at Flushing Meadows
On a day dominated by returning champions, two British players stole a slice of the spotlight with the kind of comebacks that define early rounds at majors.
Harriet Dart looked in serious trouble against Peyton Stearns, trailing by a set and a break to an American with the crowd fully behind her. Then something flipped. Dart dug in, found depth on her groundstrokes, and turned the match on its head to win 3-6 6-3 6-2.
Her coach, and Sky Sports Tennis pundit, Marion Bartoli, captured the effort in simple terms: "I'm really pleased for her. Such a great effort and mentally it's so hard to come back but she fought so hard. It's absolutely brilliant."
Jacob Fearnley went even deeper into the trenches.
Up against Spain’s Martin Landaluce, Fearnley trailed two sets to one and watched his opponent serve for the match in the fourth. Many players fade there. Fearnley surged. He reeled off three straight games to steal the set 7-5, then carried that momentum into the decider, closing out a 4-6 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory.
There was even time for a wobble. Serving for the match, he missed a routine smash that would have sealed it. Lesser minds crumble in that moment. Fearnley steadied, reset, and finished the job to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows for the second year running.
His path here only adds to the story. He actually lost in qualifying last week and slipped into the main draw as a Lucky Loser, a second chance he refused to waste.
"I saw it like I had nothing to lose and was playing on house money a little bit. That's what I told myself to ease the nerves and give my best effort," he told Sky Sports Tennis. "Super grateful for the second chance and glad I could make good use of it."
From Alcaraz’s measured return to Sabalenka’s statement start, from Muchova’s efficiency to Fearnley’s defiance, day one in New York felt less like a gentle warm-up and more like a warning shot. The champions are back, the underdogs are swinging freely, and the draw is already starting to twist. Who blinks first now that the real work begins?
