Alcaraz Dominates in US Open Return, Sabalenka Starts Strong

Carlos Alcaraz walks back into the glare of Arthur Ashe Stadium as if he never left. Four months without a competitive singles match, a wrist that had ruled him out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, doubts swirling about whether he would even make it to New York – all of that shrank under the lights as he dismantled Roman Safiullin 6-4 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the US Open.

No easing in. No feeling his way. Just a statement.

Alcaraz shrugs off rust and doubt

This was supposed to be the test. How would the wrist hold up? Could he handle best-of-five again? Would the defending champion look like the force who owned this court last year, or a man still negotiating with his own body?

“There were some doubts in the match, I'm not going to lie. Thinking about if I would last the match, best of five, playing four or five sets,” Alcaraz admitted afterwards. The honesty matched what everyone in the stadium was thinking.

Early on, the tension showed. Safiullin carved out two break points across Alcaraz’s opening three service games, probing the Spaniard’s timing and the speed of that forehand. Each time, Alcaraz dug himself out, leaning on his serve and refusing to blink. When his chance came in the eighth game, he pounced, breaking to edge ahead and closing out the set with the authority of a man who knows this court belongs to him.

All the while, the cameras kept drifting to the stands. Rapper Travis Scott, who had helped design Alcaraz’s bold brown outfit for this US Open, watched as his collaborator turned the court into a runway of his own. The aesthetic questions were answered quickly. The tennis ones took a little longer.

Safiullin struck first in the second set, breaking to suggest the contest might yet stretch into a long night. The response was immediate. Alcaraz broke straight back, raised his intensity and again cracked the Russian’s serve in the eighth game. The pattern repeated: pressure, breakthrough, set.

By the third, the match felt under his control. An early break gave him the cushion he needed and his serve, once under scrutiny, became untouchable. He moved freely, covered the baseline with his usual elastic speed and, crucially, showed no sign of guarding the wrist. The groundstrokes had their familiar bite. The defending champion looked like a contender again.

The field in his half of the draw shifted beneath his feet too. One of the form players coming in, Cincinnati Open champion Arthur Fils, had loomed as a serious obstacle. Stefanos Tsitsipas removed that threat with a 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-4 win, subtly clearing Alcaraz’s path. On this evidence, he will not be dismissed lightly as he chases another title in New York. Next up: Portugal’s Jaime Faria.

Sabalenka starts title defence with steel

On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka arrived in New York with questions swirling around her form and her ranking. She left the court with a straight-sets win and a reminder of why hard courts remain her territory.

The two-time defending champion beat Camila Osorio 6-2 6-4, a scoreline that hides the strain of a second set in which the Colombian pushed hard and forced Sabalenka to find another gear.

“Camila is a tough opponent but I was ready to do whatever it takes to get the win,” Sabalenka told Sky Sports Tennis. “I really enjoyed the atmosphere and support. A fun and tough match but happy to get through in straight sets.”

This has not been a smooth summer for the world No 1. Three straight last-16 exits – at Wimbledon, the Canadian Open and Cincinnati – have opened the door for Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula to threaten her grip on the top ranking. In New York, that number beside her name is on the line.

But Sabalenka on a hard court is a different proposition. All four of her Grand Slam titles have come on this surface, and when her raw power lands, it overwhelms. Against Osorio, the forehand hammered through the court, the serve held up when it mattered, and the nerves stayed just about in check. If she settles into this tournament, history is in reach: no woman has won three consecutive US Open titles since Serena Williams in 2014.

Muchova, Anisimova and home hopes move through

Karolina Muchova knows what it feels like to ride a wave deep into a Slam, and the Wimbledon runner-up started another potential charge with a ruthless 6-3 6-0 win over Austria’s Sinja Karus. Once she settled, the Czech simply accelerated away, conceding almost nothing in a one-sided second set.

Last year’s US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova also moved safely through, beating fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 6-1 6-3. Her clean hitting and quick start set the tone, and she never allowed Krueger to find a foothold.

The home crowd had more to cheer as Emma Navarro, Taylor Townsend and Cate McNally all joined Anisimova in the second round, adding depth to an American women’s contingent that will expect to feature heavily in the second week.

British grit on show: Dart and Fearnley turn it around

On a different corner of the grounds, two British players stitched together the kind of comebacks that define a first week at a Slam.

Harriet Dart looked in serious trouble against Peyton Stearns, trailing by a set and a break against the American. Then something flipped. Dart tightened up her game, dug in on return and turned the match on its head, storming back to win 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Her coach, and Sky Sports Tennis pundit, Marion Bartoli captured the effort: “I'm really pleased for her. Such a great effort and mentally it's so hard to come back but she fought so hard. It's absolutely brilliant.” The scoreboard agreed.

Jacob Fearnley went even closer to the edge. Up against Spain’s Martin Landaluce, he found himself down two sets to one and then staring at defeat as Landaluce served for the match in the fourth. Fearnley refused to go quietly.

He broke, held, broke again, snatching the set 7-5 and riding the surge into a decisive fifth. The momentum stayed with him as he closed out a 4-6 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory, even after a missed routine smash on match point briefly threatened to unravel his composure. It didn’t. He reset, finished the job, and secured a place in the second round at Flushing Meadows for the second straight year.

That he is even in the main draw feels like a bonus. Fearnley lost in qualifying last week and only squeezed in as a Lucky Loser, a second life he has seized with both hands.

“I saw it like I had nothing to lose and was playing on house money a little bit. That's what I told myself to ease the nerves and give my best effort,” he said. “Super grateful for the second chance and glad I could make good use of it.”

From Alcaraz’s defiant return to Sabalenka’s power statement and Fearnley’s escape act, day one in New York delivered a clear message: doubts and rankings can wait. On these courts, in this city, it’s the players who handle the questions under the lights who will shape the fortnight.