Carlos Alcaraz works hard during training on the Arthur Ashe, the center court of the US Open, and from a small corner, at the exit of the locker room hallway, two rivals appear, Tommy Paul and Andrey Rublev. They observe him, analyze his blows, comment; If they had a notebook, they would even take notes. They haven't seen him in a long time and, like everyone else in Flushing Meadows, they have doubts. How are you doing? Is it himself? Has anything changed in your game? And, above all, how far can it go?
More than four months ago, Alcaraz left Barcelona with his right wrist bandaged and today he reappears in New York, turned into an enigma, in the first round of the American Grand Slam against the Russian Roman Safiullin (around 7:00 p.m., Movistar). Neither Paul nor Rublev nor the rest of the hundreds of people who have seen his sessions these days have come up with anything clear. In fact, not even Alcaraz himself can accurately define his status, nor can his team. How far can it go? Who knows? Match by match, this time it is not a cliché.
Around him there is a logical uncertainty, but also some certainty. The most important thing is that the wrist no longer hurts. "I was clear that if I returned it would be under the same conditions in which I have always played, physically and technically. If I didn't feel good, I wouldn't have come," he said during Media Day, when he was seen smiling, happy, even euphoric.
Revalidating his champion title seems like a daring goal right now, but the simple fact of being able to play tennis is already a reason for enjoyment. "I don't want to think about the result, but about the process," he repeated several times, already becoming a mantra these days, before denying that the injury had forced him to make any modifications.
In training last week, as in the mixed doubles tournament with Serena Williams, he was seen hitting differently with his forehand, accompanying the ball with his body, without releasing his usual whip with his arm, but those around him claim that it was only a protective measure.
In one of his last practices, the day before yesterday, together with Karen Khachanov, he got more carried away and began to sound differently. The doubt, in fact, is not so much in his forehand - although there will most likely be more unforced errors than usual - as in his serve.
That is the technical gesture that requires more self-confidence, more fluidity, more automation, and it is the one that is most difficult to recover. If on his best afternoons, not so long ago, in the last Australian Open, he reached 220 kilometers per hour with precision, in this US Open he will surely serve at a lower speed and will have to be more tactical.
In any case, it will not force too much to recover its power; Prudence remains the maximum. "I hate losing, that's clear. I come for everything, but for me the most important thing is to leave this tournament healthy, to have been able to compete, to have my wrist and the rest of my body respected. I don't know if my limit is going to be the first round or reaching the final," Alcaraz admitted.
His team assumes that he has a chance of reaching the second week, where rivals such as Arthur Fils - recent champion of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 - and Ben Shelton await him in the quarterfinals, although they insist that caution is in order: he will not break down by playing one more round.
The right wrist is under surveillance, with a specific warm-up in the area that his physiotherapist, Juanjo Moreno, performs every day, and a protective mesh that he could use in games - he will decide it himself based on sensations - but the rest of the body is of concern. Prolonged inactivity has already caused him discomfort in other areas when he returned to training this summer in Murcia, and the risk of injury is considerable.
control the mind
"The entire injury process has been long. The first month was a little difficult. I couldn't do anything with my right arm and the intrusive thoughts were the most difficult thing to handle," said the current world number three, who also acknowledged that during his time off he found enjoyment: "It gave me time for everything, to disconnect, to be with the family. I have understood that tennis is my life, my passion and I have missed it very much." In his week before the Grand Slam, Alcaraz has also been recovering his New York routines, so typical of the place.
