Carlos Alcaraz believes he is capable of winning the US Open as he returns to professional tennis after a four-month injury layoff due to a right wrist injury.
Alcaraz, the defending champion in New York, will compete in singles for the first time since injuring his wrist at the Barcelona Open in April when he faces Roman Safiullin in the first round.
Belief in victory
“So, it is possible [to win],” Alcaraz said. “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.”
This season began with one of the greatest achievements of Alcaraz’s career as he became the youngest man in history to complete a career grand slam with his triumph in Australia. However, his homecoming in Barcelona a few days after reaching the Monte Carlo final ended in him injuring his right wrist and being sidelined for a lengthy period.
Difficult recovery
Alcaraz described his uncertainty as the most difficult part of the past four months. “The first month was kind of difficult for me, because I couldn’t do anything with my right arm,” he said. “It was tough. But at the same time, I enjoyed my time. I enjoyed my time with family, with friends, staying at home. But once I started to practice a little bit, that I didn’t know when I’m gonna start, [those] thoughts are really difficult to deal with, because I don’t know if I’m gonna be ready for Cincinnati, for US Open, or I’m gonna miss the whole American swing. So those thoughts were really difficult to deal with. But finally, here we are.”
The challenge of coming back from such a difficult injury is only compounded by the fact that Alcaraz is making his return at a grand slam in the best of five sets format. Alcaraz only began hitting again just over four weeks ago and the timeline of his recovery meant the 23-year-old has not had time to slowly work his way back into competition.
Return at a slam
After missing the French Open, where he was also the defending champion, and Wimbledon, Alcaraz was understandably desperate not to be absent for the final grand slam of the year. “Coming to the US Open, best-of-five for the first one, in such a long time, it’s really challenging.” he said.
“Probably, in terms of preparation and everything, [it] is not the best time. But we, my team and me, believe that I’m ready. It wasn’t an easy decision. I just did whatever it took to be ready. I just tried to do everything perfect on and off the court, to feel ready. Really long practices, really intense practices, just to see how my wrist is going to react on the practices and after that really long days. We saw everything [was] OK, everything [was] good with those practices, and we thought it’s going to be the time to be back.”
