US Open: Alcaraz wins on return, aggressive Sabalenka advances

At the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz made a triumphant comeback to Grand Slam tennis on Monday, playing without any issues despite his right wrist having been injured since April. The 23-year-old Spaniard defeated Roman Safiullin with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Alcaraz remarked that his wrist felt completely normal during the match, saying, "I don’t know how it looked from outside, but from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal."

The Spanish tennis player admitted that he was more nervous than usual, as he had not participated in a Grand Slam match for several months. However, his primary objective was to enjoy the tournament and observe how his body reacted to the competition. Alcaraz stated, "I had more nerves than usual, but just happy, because, for me, my goal here is to compete, to enjoy, and let’s see how my body’s going to react after the matches, after the competition again."

With Novak Djokovic's early exit and Jannik Sinner sidelined by a knee injury, Alcaraz's prospects of defending his title have been enhanced. Meanwhile, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka also started her US Open defense strongly, defeating Camila Osorio with a score of 6-4, 6-4. Sabalenka expressed her excitement about playing at one of her favorite stadiums, saying, "I feel like this is one of my favorite stadiums. I really experienced the best emotions here in this stadium."

Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced in the tournament, eliminating 10th seed Arthur Fils, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. When asked whether he could rediscover his best form, Tsitsipas replied, "Why not?"