Carlos Alcaraz Surprised by Novak Djokovic's US Open Exit

Carlos Alcaraz began his US Open title defence with a straight-sets win over Roman Safiullin and admitted he was surprised by Novak Djokovic’s shock first-round defeat.

Djokovic lost to Mariano Navone in five sets, ending his tournament much earlier than expected and ruling out a possible semi-final clash with Alcaraz.

Alcaraz said he watched the final set of Djokovic’s match and understood how significant the result was. “I saw the fifth set. Obviously it was the first time that Novak lost in the first round here in this tournament, so it's a big surprise. Someone like Novak going out in the first round, it's surprising,” Alcaraz said.

However, the defending champion insisted Djokovic’s exit would not change how he approaches the tournament. “But every Grand Slam is really difficult to get through every round, every player. It's really tough. You have to earn the win (from) the first ball until the last one. He was in my part of the draw, but it was in the semis. For me, the semis are too far away, so I just try to go round by round,” he added.

Alcaraz makes strong return

The 23-year-old Spaniard was also dealing with his own uncertainty after missing 139 days because of a right wrist injury.

Returning to singles competition for the first time since April, Alcaraz admitted he felt more nervous than usual. “It was a difficult day for me,” Alcaraz said when asked about the feelings ahead of his first singles match in 139 days.

“But at the same time, a really beautiful one. Starting the day I was really nervous, thinking ‘I'm going to make it, I'm going to compete again’. I had more nerves than usual, but just happy, because my goal here is to compete, to enjoy, and let's see how my body's going to react after the matches.”

Alcaraz produced 28 winners against Safiullin and confirmed he felt no pain during the match. The win took his season record to 23-3. He will next meet Portugal’s Jaime Faria as he continues his bid for another US Open title.