Carlos Alcaraz, the defending US Open champion, is confident he can win the tournament despite returning to professional tennis after a four-month layoff due to a right wrist injury. The 23-year-old has not competed in singles since injuring his wrist at the Barcelona Open in April.
Alcaraz will face Roman Safiullin in the first round, marking his first singles match since the injury. He stated, "So, it is possible [to win]. I think that many people have shown it. [Roger] Federer, [Rafa] Nadal, many people have shown that you can win a grand slam after having been injured for a long time or having had a very hard injury. So we’re going to try to tie ourselves to that belief that we can do it too.”
The season began strongly for Alcaraz, who became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with his triumph in Australia. However, his return to Barcelona after reaching the Monte Carlo final led to the wrist injury, sidelining him for an extended period. Alcaraz described the uncertainty during his recovery as the most challenging aspect of the past four months.
Returning at a Grand Slam in a best-of-five sets format presents a significant challenge, especially as Alcaraz only began hitting again just over four weeks ago. He acknowledged, “Coming to the US Open, best-of-five for the first one, in such a long time, it’s really challenging.” Despite this, he and his team believe he is ready after intense practices to test his wrist.