So much so that Carlos Alcaraz was good at his first tennis tournament in four and a half months. But not without setbacks.
The Spaniard ran into trouble early in the second round of the United States Open against Jaime Faria, but then won the match in 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows. China’s Yibing Wu will perform in the third round.
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The tie means Alcaraz, 23 years old, has yet to lose a match to an ATP player younger than that. Faria is about three months younger than that.
It was a slow start for Alcaraz, who last played in Barcelona in mid-April. He had been on the shelf since then with a wrist injury, forcing him to miss the French Open and Wimbledon. He did not have much trouble at first, and directed Safiullinus in the direction of the Roman.
Faria’s face appeared differently. After an exchange of easy guards, Alcaraz Faria served under pressure in the 14th point of the game, which ended in the guard for the challenger. Faria then returned the favor by breaking Alcaraz in another 14-point game to take a 4-3 lead and take the set later.
Alcaraz replies that Faria is just not ready with the level of tennis. There was plenty of blood in the second – Faria won only seven of his 21 service points – and early breaks in the third and fourth sets gave Alcaraz a comfortable path to victory.
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With each set, Alcaraz appeared inches closer to the form that made him a star in New York, but it remains to be seen how he will hold up against better competition.
Assuming Alcaraz takes care of business against Wu, his first real test will be in the fourth round, against either No. 15 seed Alexander Bublik or No. 20 seed Tommy Paul.