Carlos Alcaraz shakes off first-set loss to beat Faria in four to move into US Open third round

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates winning his match against Jaime Faria of Portugal during the second round of the US Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in New York. (AP photo) Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz recovered from an early wobble to reach the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, coming back from a set down to beat Portugal’s Jaime Faria in four sets.Alcaraz, playing his first major competition since returning from a four-month layoff due to a wrist injury, defeated the world No.72. 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 in 2 hours and 40 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.The 23-year-old Spaniard will face China’s Wu Yibing in the third round.Faria entered the match more prominently. He held his serve well, chasing almost every ball and keeping Alcaraz under pressure.The Portuguese got their first break in the seventh game when Alcaraz missed a forehand to take a 4-3 lead. He then held at love in the next game and fired an ace to move to 5-3.Another strong service game saw him close out the set and he held easily with a blistering serve that Alcaraz could only wave away.After losing the first set, Alcaraz raised the bar in the second. Faria’s serve began to struggle as the Spaniard began hitting groundstrokes at a greater pace.Alcaraz had to save two break points in the opening game of the second set, but after that he completely dominated. He broke Faria’s serve three times and did not lose a game in the set.The momentum continued in the third set as Alcaraz broke serve early for a 2-0 lead.Faria responded with a break to cut the gap to 2-1, but Alcaraz immediately broke back to restore his advantage to 3-1. Both players held serve for the remainder of the set as Alcaraz moved to a 2-1 lead.Alcaraz split twice in the fourth game to take a 5-1 lead and serve to seal the win.