2026 US Open: Carlos Alcaraz authors straight-sets victory over Roman Safiullin in first singles match back from injury

Carlos Alcaraz pumped his fist in the first set and put his hand to his ear in the third, reveling in the moment Monday at the 2026 US Open.

He authored a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russian Roman Safiullin in his first singles match since April when he injured his right wrist at the Barcelona Open . It's his first major since since he won the Australian Open this past winter , a triumph that made him the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam .

The 23-year-old Spaniard has won the US Open twice before, including last year when he defeated Italy's Jannik Sinner in the final. Sinner, the world No. 1, isn't taking part in the major this time around because of a right knee injury that he's been nursing .

Notably, Alcaraz won't have to face fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic, either. Djokovic could have stood in Alcaraz's path to the final, but the 39-year-old Serbian suffered an agonizing five-set defeat in the first round on Sunday night to Argentine Mariano Navone .

Alcaraz, the No. 3 player in the world and No. 2 seed in this event, will now face Portugal's Jaime Faria in the second round on Wednesday. Faria is 72nd in the current ATP rankings . Safiullin is 99th.

Alcaraz broke Safiullin in the seventh game of the match with a signature forehand winner that rocketed across the court. That was a positive sign and so was his breathtaking backhand drop shot in the set's final game, which he closed out on serve and celebrated with a roar.

Safiullin's opportunity to make things interesting arrived in the second set. He broke Alcaraz early on and had a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead. But a shot into the net resulted in deuce. Then Safiullin double faulted. He tried to bounce back, however his potential forehand winner was wide of the line.

Just like that, the cracked window into potential chaos was closed, and Alcaraz was back in control. His confidence shined, like when he attempted a tweener at 15-15 with a 5-4 lead in the second set. The ball met twine, yet Alcaraz quickly regained the advantage with a series of booming strokes. He won that set and the next.

That match's final game started with Alcaraz emerging from a rally with a drop-shot volley that dropped jaws . That's when he cued the crowd. Soon after, he sealed the deal.

"I couldn't have decided to come back in a better tournament than in the US Open here in New York," he said in his post-match, on-court interview.

"It's a really special place for me, a special tournament for me. And I try to enjoy as much as I can. I missed it. I missed the crowd, the energy. I missed competition. I missed everything. So I'm just really, really happy that I was able to compete again."

Alcaraz made his return to competition last week during the mixed doubles portion of the US Open. He followed up his absence by teaming up with a 44-year-old Serena Williams.

Together, the tennis superstars — one on a path to the sport's Mount Rushmore and the other already there — bested doubles specialists Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool before bowing out in the the quarterfinals to the fourth-seeded team of Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli . That more casual event served as Alcaraz's brief ramp-up to the US Open singles draw. Earlier this month, he withdrew from the Cincinnati Open , which is regarded as the warmup tournament for the US Open.

At the time, Alcaraz was still navigating his wrist issue and working his way back to tournament-level play. He was dealing with tenosynovitis, which, according to Cleveland Clinic , is the inflammation of the connective tissue that surrounds your tendons. It can be painful and inhibit joint movement.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has a chance to pull off a stunning comeback in Queens, given his limited play in the past four-plus months leading up to the singles draw.

That reboot is off to a swift start, with Alcaraz taking care of business in straight sets on Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Alcaraz admitted afterward that he had some doubts if he could last through a full best-of-five match. But when the match started, he tuned out that noise.

"I tried to enjoy, to be focused on the things that I had to do, on the things that I just tried to prove and everything," he said. "I just let it go myself."

He later added: "I'm pretty sure I'm going to get better and better after every day. But the most I'm proud of, I'm going to say that, mentally, I was able to deal with everything with the nerves, with the doubts in my head, and I just kept it going, and I'm just really proud about it."