Carlos Alcaraz arrives in New York to defend a title having played no competitive tennis since April, when a wrist injury ended his spring.
The draw has been kind at the start and unkind later: Roman Safiullin in the first round, then a projected semi-final against the winner of a section holding Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima.
A four-month layoff at 23 is a physical question rather than a technical one. The interesting thing to watch in his opening matches is not the ball-striking, which rarely deserts him, but the length of the rallies he is willing to accept and how freely the wrist lets him hit the forehand up the line.
Summarised by TennisArena from reporting by Sky Sports — https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12040/13577613/us-open-draw-carlos-alcaraz-novak-djokovic-arthur-fery-aryna-sabalenka-and-coco-gauff-find-out-first-round-opponents-in-new-york