‘Big surprise’: Carlos Alcaraz candidly admits shock defeat to Novak Djokovic at US Open

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz Carlos Alcaraz opened his US Open title defense with a straight sets victory over Roman Safiullin and admitted he was surprised by Novak Djokovic’s shock first-round defeat.Djokovic lost to Mariano Navon in five sets, ending his tournament much earlier than expected and ruling out a possible semi-final clash with Alcaraz.Alcaraz said he watched the final set of Djokovic’s match and understood how significant the result was.“I saw the fifth set. Obviously, it was the first time here in this tournament that Novak lost in the first round, so it’s a big surprise. Someone like Novak to go out in the first round, that’s surprising,” Alcaraz said.However, the defending champion insisted that Djokovic’s departure will not change his approach to the tournament.“But every Grand Slam is really hard to go through every round, every player. It’s really hard. You have to win (from) the first ball to the last. He was in my part of the draw, but it was in the semi-finals. For me, the semi-finals are too far, so I try to go round by round,” he added.

Alcaraz makes a strong comeback

The 23-year-old Spaniard has also dealt with uncertainty of his own after missing 139 days with a right wrist injury. Returning to singles action for the first time since April, Alcaraz admitted he felt more nervous than usual.“It was a tough day for me,” Alcaraz said when asked about his feelings ahead of his first singles match in 139 days. “But at the same time really beautiful. I was really nervous starting the day, I thought ‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to compete again.Also read:Alcaraz produced 28 winners against Safiullin and confirmed that he felt no pain during the match. The win moved his season record to 23-3. He will next face Portugal’s Jaime Faria, who continues his quest for another US Open title.