Carlos Alcaraz returned to singles action with a bang by defeating Roman Safiullin in straight sets to reach the second round of the US Open.

The Spaniard had not played competitively since April, when he injured his wrist at the Barcelona Open, before his US Open first round appearance.

He return went without a hitch as he won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against the Russian star to set up a second round match against Jaime Faria in New York.

Alcaraz will likely face bigger tests at the Grand Slam, but this was a very good sign that he has the potential to live up to his current favourite tag at the tournament.

Brad Gilbert, who coached the likes of Coco Gauff and Andy Murray, has now had his say on Alcaraz’s return to action at the US Open.

More Carlos Alcaraz news

Speaking on The Big T Podcast, the American coach said: “I was very impressed with his movement, [he] didn’t look rusty.

“Safiullin is the kind of guy who plays big, and he’s like one of those guys, he can go away for two years, not do anything, he made the round of 16 at Wimbledon, he’s a dangerous player. So I thought that was a great start.

“If you’d told me that match went five sets, I was kind of expecting him at some point to maybe struggle in that match. I need to see him in a few matches before I can really make an assessment.”

Gilbert also believes that if Alcaraz continues to produce similar performances in the next two rounds, it could force the rest of the ATP Tour to stand up and notice.

“If he starts to play like that and get a couple of matches under his belt, I think that all of a sudden in the locker room, the view might change a little bit, that like: ‘Uh-oh, he’s not here just to compete, he’s here to win it’. So I do think it was a very positive start for him.”

Alcaraz’s victory against Safiullin continued an extraordinary record for the Spaniard.

His win against the Russian was his 15th victory in a row on hardcourts at Grand Slams, thanks to his victories at the 2026 Australian Open and the 2025 US Open.

He is the youngest player to reach that number for 32 years, when Pete Sampras managed 15 hardcourt victories in a row in the 1994 ATP Tour season.

Alcaraz has also won 25 matches at the US Open now, from his first 28 at the Grand Slam. Only Arthur Ashe (28) and John McEnroe (27) have claimed as many wins at the US Open in as many or fewer matches in Open Era history.