NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Carlos Alcaraz was nervous. He was excited. Best of all, he was pain-free. <\/p>\n
Alcaraz<\/a> beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday, showing no problems with the right wrist injury that had sidelined the 23-year-old Spaniard since April.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how it looked from outside, but from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cI was playing pretty normal, playing my style, and yeah, the arm, the wrist, everything felt great.\u201d<\/p>\n In that case, don\u2019t rule out a run at a repeat.<\/p>\n Following fellow two-time U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka onto Arthur Ashe Stadium, the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz appeared more comfortable as the match went on and delivered the all-around game that has made him a fan favorite in New York. He held his hand to his ear to encourage louder cheers and pumped his fist after a pretty volley winner in the final game of the match.<\/p>\n Alcaraz could be an even bigger favorite after Djokovic\u2019s loss<\/p>\n Forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz decided he was good enough to come back at the U.S. Open, stepping right back into Grand Slam tennis without a warmup event. <\/p>\n \u201cI had more nerves than usual, but just happy, because, for me, my goal here is to compete, to enjoy, and let\u2019s see how my body\u2019s going to react after the matches, after the competition again,\u201d Alcaraz said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how far I\u2019m going to go in the tournament. I didn\u2019t know if I was going to lose this one, if I\u2019m going to make the second round, final. I don\u2019t know how far I\u2019m going to go. But what I just really want to do is enjoy every time that I\u2019m going to walk into the court feeling the energy from the people, feel the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n No man has won consecutive U.S. Open titles since Roger Federer took five in a row from 2004-08. If Alcaraz stays healthy, the seven-time Grand Slam champion may quickly become a huge favorite with top-ranked Jannik Sinner sidelined by a knee injury and No. 4 Novak Djokovic losing in the U.S. Open\u2019s first round<\/a> for the first time on Sunday.<\/p>\n With the tournament thrown into shock by that result \u2014 Djokovic had been 19-0 in the first round at Flushing Meadows, where he won four of his men\u2019s-record 24 Grand Slam titles \u2014 Sabalenka brought back some normalcy.<\/p>\n Sabalenka likes the look of her outfit and her game<\/p>\n Sabalenka<\/a> beat Camila Osorio 6-4, 6-4 to begin her bid to be the first player to win three straight U.S. Open championships since Serena Williams from 2012-14.<\/p>\n She has been to the last three U.S. Open finals, rebounding from a loss to Coco Gauff in 2023 by winning in 2024 and then topping Amanda Anisimova last year to repeat.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like this is one of my favorite stadiums,\u201d Sabalenka told the crowd afterward. \u201cI really experienced the best emotions here in this stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n Sabalenka changed up her look from last time she played on Ashe. Her orange Nike outfit was covered by orange mesh, rather than the black mesh of last week in her mixed doubles match with Djokovic that drew some criticism on social media. Sabalenka dismissed the comments, saying all that mattered was she loved it, and turns out the reason for the change was simple.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, I didn\u2019t know that I have a day dress,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought I have a black dress with orange underneath. I figured (out) when I went to Nike that I actually have day session and night session, which is just like black and orange for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n She must have certainly been happier with the level of tennis she delivered Monday, after a series of poor events coming into the U.S. Open. She was knocked out in the fourth round in both Toronto and Cincinnati, after being ousted at the same point at Wimbledon.<\/p>\n That has left Sabalenka needing help to retain the No. 1 ranking, even if she wins again in New York. No. 2 Elena Rybakina will pass her if she reaches the semifinals, and won\u2019t even need to win any matches if Sabalenka fails to win the title.<\/p>\n Wawrinka says goodbye and Tsitsipas signals that he may be back<\/p>\n Past U.S. Open champions who advanced included No. 8 Iga Swiatek and 2017 winner Sloane Stephens, with two-time champ Naomi Osaka in action at night. Stan Wawrinka lost to Matteo Berrettini in the final Grand Slam match<\/a> before the three-time major champion from Switzerland, who won the title in 2016, retires at 41.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to miss it for sure. I\u2019m going to miss it big time,\u201d Wawrinka said.<\/p>\n Another top-10 seed followed Djokovic out when No. 10 Arthur Fils, coming off the title in Cincinnati, was ousted by Stefanos Tsitsipas<\/a> 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-4. Tsitsipas, who is unseeded at the U.S. Open for the first time, was asked if he can regain the form that catapulted the Greek to the No. 3 ranking and two losses to Djokovic in Grand Slam finals.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d Tsitsipas said.<\/p>\n No. 8 Ben Shelton recovered from a miserable start in which he was broken three times in a 28-minute first set and beat Tallon Griekspoor 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2.<\/p>\n Other winners included No. 6 Linda Noskova, the Wimbledon champion; No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova, who lost to her fellow Czech in the final at the All-England Club, and No. 10 Anisimova. Sara Bejlek, another Czech and the No. 28 seed who stunned Sabalenka in Cincinnati, fell in three sets to Cristina Bucsa.<\/p>\n Navarro moves on and Boisson melts down<\/p>\n No. 26 seed Emma Navarro outlasted Lois Boisson 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-3 in a first-round match that began Sunday but was not completed until Monday because of rain.<\/p>\n An ESPN camera captured the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in one shot. As Navarro pumped her fist toward the crowd, Boisson could be seen behind her smashing her racket repeatedly<\/a> to the court. <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n