US Open: Carlos Alcaraz returns to the spotlight

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz (Photo Reuters/Mike Frey) NEW YORK CITY: Four months is a long time in tennis.Since Carlos Alcaraz injured his right wrist in a fateful moment in mid-April, the men’s tour, like the whirlwind of seasons, has changed. Alexander Zverev won his first Grand Slam title aged 29 in a fortnight that saw temperatures soar at Roland Garros as world number one Jannik Sinner defended his Wimbledon title. Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar shot up the ATP rankings, climbing from outside the top 500 to the edge of the world top 10 in less than a year.It is into this unpredictable landscape that Alcaraz enters with a new look.However, the 23-year-old will take solace in the fact that he is returning to competitive tennis at the US Open, the Grand Slam where it all started for him. It was at this sprawling venue in the New York borough of Queens that he won his first major crown in 2022 and climbed to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time. It was here that he returned to the top again last year, defeating Sinner to claim his second US Open title.On Monday, Alcaraz, whose long, sleek locks, held back by a thin black headband, has already attracted plenty of smitten fans, opens against Roman Safiullin, the 29-year-old who lit up Wimbledon last month with his match. The Russian also defeated Alcaraz in straight sets at the Paris Masters three years ago. Two recent Masters 1000 champions, Ben Shelton and Arthur Fils, are potential quarter-final opponents for second-seeded Alcaraz, who has 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic on his side.“I feel great,” Alcaraz told international media at his pre-championship conference. “I think right now it (the injury) is in my head. I have to trust my team, I have to trust my people who are telling me it’s going to be OK. So I just have to go 100% and stay away from that fear.”“My team and I believe that I am ready,” he added. “It wasn’t an easy decision. I did everything I needed to do to be ready. I tried to do everything perfectly on and off the court, really long practices, intense practices, just to see how my wrist would react.”Alcaraz trained with 23-year-old Holger Run, a former No. 4 big hitter, in Murcia before coming to New York.Although Alcaraz enters the US Open after a four-month layoff due to injury and without a previous hard-court singles match, the second seed is barely short of expectations.The last few months have only underlined how much Alcaraz, Sinner and the 39-year-old Djokovic matter to the men’s game. They are the sport’s biggest stars, the ones who put bums in the seats. At Roland Garros in May-June, with Alcaraz out of tournament play and Sinner’s challenge languishing in the heat, Zverev’s title became inconvenient for the sport. Germany’s two separate sets of domestic abuse allegations changed the way it was covered in some media.Now that Sinner is out with a dodgy right knee, the burden falls on Alcaraz to carry the load for his generation.Daniil Medvedev, the 30-year-old world No. 8, claimed that if Alcaraz is in Flushing Meadows, it means he and his team are confident the wrist has recovered sufficiently.“I don’t think the wrist will be a problem,” he said. “It’s more for the whole body itself. If he has a tough match, it might be interesting to see how he copes. It’s really nice for me to see him play here. If I get a chance, I’ll watch his match, he’s playing my friend Roman.”Sweet friendship angle aside, the eyes of the tennis world are on Alcaraz as he makes his comeback. After four months, it’s time to see if his wrist and tennis are ready.