Carlos Alcaraz defeated Russian player Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in 2 hours and 21 minutes at the US Open. ^[1] Carlos Alcaraz defeated Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the 2026 US Open on 2026-08-31 to begin his title defense. ^[2] Carlos Alcaraz, the number three ranked player in the world, returned to individual tennis action after a 139-day inactivity period caused by a right wrist injury. ^[3] Carlos Alcaraz had been absent from competition for 138 days due to a right wrist injury before playing at the US Open. ^[4] Carlos Alcaraz is defending his title at the US Open and has won seven Grand Slam titles in his career. ^[5] Carlos Alcaraz's next opponent in the second round will be Portuguese player Jaime Faría, ranked number 72 in the world. ^[6] Carlos Alcaraz is attempting to become the first man to defend his US Open title since Roger Federer, who won five consecutive US Open titles from 2004 to 2008. ^[7] Carlos Alcaraz said after the match that he had woken up much more nervous than normal and had forgotten his usual pre-match routines, including what to do during the warm-up. ^[8] Carlos Alcaraz stated that he is proud of his mental performance in handling nerves and doubts during his first official match in over four months. ^[9] Carlos Alcaraz won the match in two hours and 22 minutes of play, dispelling doubts about his physical condition. ^[10] Carlos Alcaraz extended his consecutive Grand Slam win streak to 15 matches with this victory. ^[11] Carlos Alcaraz, ranked third in the world, defeated Safiullin, who was ranked 99th. ^[12]