Greg Rusedski has one ‘question mark’ about Carlos Alcaraz after seeing his return to tennis at the US Open

In doing so, he proved many wrong, including Greg Rusedski, who thought Alcaraz would withdraw from the US Open or lose in the first round.

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Rusedski has now delivered his verdict on Alcaraz’s win.

Greg Rusedski argues Carlos Alcaraz was ‘very fortunate’ with his first-round opponent and still questions his fitness

During the latest episode of ‘Off Court with Greg Rusedski‘, the 52-year-old said the following.

“It was actually quite impressive from [Carlos] Alcaraz. As we said, no matches for 139 days, decides to start at a three-out-of-five sets tournament; yes, [Roman] Safiullin didn’t play great, but still, Alcaraz found a way through,” said Rusedski.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiullin – Match stats

“It was box office, he had Travis Scott in his box watching him, it’s just incredible to see what he’s done, because most people need a few matches to get ready, to get that confidence and that belief.

“The big question mark for me is how does he bounce back the next day, how does the wrist feel.

“Because you have that adrenaline in your body.”

Rusedski noticed Alcaraz’s serve speed was slower than usual during his first-round match.

“If I was going to be critical of one thing, service speed was down,” he said.

“Averaging 112 mph, he’s usually in the 120 range, so he was obviously taking a little bit off the first serve.

“Forehand was huge, from the ground strokes. He was hitting as hard as ever, which was a positive; we saw that huge forehand on break point to get the opening set, the use of the drop shot…

“There were so many positives, but the question mark still is round two. Is the wrist good enough? Will the speeds be there? Will he increase?

“If he does increase, this is a huge positive for our sport, because we desperately wanted him back, and in the opening round, very good signs from the former world number one.”

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Rusedski was then asked if he thought Alcaraz could serve 112mph against some of the better players in the draw.

“No, because even against Safiullin, he only won 66% of points on second serve, and that number is usually 70+ to 80%,” he said.

“Second serve defence was incredible; that was above 60%. Second serve is great; he’s covering it well.

“First serve against the very best, you need to be there, because the best guys will step in; they won’t play that far back, they’ll rip into that serve if he’s only rolling it in at 112, and then you’re starting off on the back foot.

“Let’s see what happens in the next round. If he increases his speed, if it was tactical, he should be averaging 120+.”

Rusedski continued to comment on Alcaraz’s wrist condition and argued he was fortunate to meet Safiullin in round one.

“Well, the thing that we were all concerned about is that you usually start at a two-out-of-three-set match. Let’s be honest, he was very fortunate that it was a straight-set match,” he said.

“If that went four, five sets, it was a physical match… Imagine if he got someone like [Mariano] Navone, who played against [Novak] Djokovic, who was like the human wall, who runs all day!

“But Safiullin, as I said, can be flaky at times, can get very nervous. Can see him miss balls he should make, and the tension got to him.

“This was the perfect opener for him. The test for Alcaraz is going to be when he gets pushed in a very physical, long match that goes four or five sets: will the wrist hold up?

“Because he doesn’t have that catalogue of work, you can train and practice as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you can’t replicate those five-hour, six-hour matches that you have to go back-to-back sometimes at Slams.

“But from my point of view, a very impressive comeback, nothing but a compliment to him and his team, for what he’s done in that opening round.

“The only question is how the wrist is today, how is the wrist going to be in the next match?”

Alcaraz’s wrist held up ok against Safiullin, but only time will tell if it will when he returns to take on Jaime Faria in the second round.

Carlos Alcaraz maintains first-round Grand Slam streak with US Open win

The Spaniard has now won 21 Grand Slam first-round matches, losing none.

Alcaraz is unbeaten in major tournament openers; however, his second-round record isn’t quite so impressive.

He lost in the second round of the 2021 Australian Open, the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2024 US Open.

His defeat to Alexei Popyrin two years ago was the last time he failed to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.

Looking to avoid a similar upset, Alcaraz will play Faria in the second round on Wednesday, September 2.