08/28/26 03:26:00
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08/28 15:24 CDT After being out four months because of injury, Carlos Alcaraz
expects to be himself at the US Open
After being out four months because of injury, Carlos Alcaraz expects to be
himself at the US Open
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- After sitting out more than four months nursing an injured
right wrist that caused him to miss the French Open and Wimbledon, Carlos
Alcaraz didn't decide to return for the U.S. Open to be anything less than his
Grand Slam-winning self.
"You're going to see Carlitos playing the way he always has," Alcaraz said.
The 23-year-old from Spain is set to play his first competitive singles match
Monday since getting sidelined by the wrist injury in mid-April. He insists he
has not changed anything about his mechanics and expressed confidence about
physically feeling great.
"I need competition," Alcaraz said Friday. "We, my team and me, believe that
I'm ready. It wasn't an easy decision. I just did whatever it took to be ready."
Alcaraz is the defending champion and favored to go back-to-back, a year after
beating Jannik Sinner and overtaking him for the No. 1 ranking. The field this
time does not include Sinner, who withdrew because of a right knee injury.
"We are not going see each other for, like, six months now, seven months,"
Alcaraz said. "It's kind of a weird situation, to be honest."
Alexander Zverev is the top seed in Sinner's absence. But all eyes are on
Alcaraz, who earlier this year won his seventh Grand Slam title by defeating
Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
"Everyone is going to be pretty tapped in to see his first match," 11th-seeded
American Frances Tiafoe said. "If he comes back anywhere near his level, it's
tough. Regardless, even if he's not at his tip-top (shape), you've still got to
beat him in five (sets)."
Alcaraz opens against Roman Safiullin as he dives right back into
best-of-five-set tennis in his return. He did get a chance to shake some rust
off by playing a couple of mixed doubles matches with Serena Williams this
week, but he knows not getting a full ramp up to the U.S. Open adds another
layer of difficulty.
"It's really challenging," Alcaraz said. "Probably in terms of preparation and
everything, (it) is not the best time."
But the energy of playing in New York was enough of a draw that he said, "There
is no better tournament than the U.S. Open to be back."
Can he win it off such a long layoff? He knows Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
have done it but does not want to set any expectations.
"I'm not going to set a limit for myself," Alcaraz said in Spanish. "I don't
want to focus on a specific result. I want to focus on the process we've gone
through. Just go out there, enjoy it and feel good."
Zverev, who's now four years removed from tearing ligaments in his right ankle,
was reluctant to compare two very different injuries. But he expects Alcaraz to
be formidable as the tournament goes on.
"Wrist is never easy," Zverev said. "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."
After dealing with intrusive thoughts during his time away from the sport,
Alcaraz is still playing a mental game to not worry too much about the injury.
His goals are to get through the U.S. Open healthy and stay away from the fear
that creeps into his head.
"I just have to go 100%," Alcaraz said. "I've got to trust my team. I've got to
trust my people that tell me that it's going to be fine."
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AP Sports Writer Eric Nunez contributed to this report.
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See AP's full tennis coverage here
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