Carlos Alcaraz’s return from his four-month injury break has been rewarded with a tough US Open draw. And when tennis journalist Jose Morgado took a look at the defending champion’s bracket, he couldn’t help but call it “a pretty terrible draw.”

The path laid out has Alcaraz opening against Roman Safiullin, a player who has defeated him before and had a sensational run at Wimbledon this year. This is followed by a potential fourth-round clash with either Alexander Bublik or Tommy Paul, and it just keeps getting harder. He awaits an expected quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton or Arthur Fils, followed by a semi-final that could feature Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe or Brandon Nakashima. 

Morgado even pointed out that the top half of the draw is much lighter in comparison to the bottom half where Alcaraz is placed. Due to the absence of Sinner, Alcaraz enters the tournament as the second seed, but despite the absence of his greatest rival, he does not have the time to breathe in the draw. 

The Spaniard had not played a tennis match in more than 100 days and marked his return at the mixed doubles event with Serena Williams, a strategic decision along with a blockbuster pairing. The duo delivered exactly what the organizers hoped for when they gave the wildcard, sold out stands, and they won their first round against doubles specialists Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool. 

They failed to win their quarterfinal bout against Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli, but not without a fight, as they pushed them to a tie-break in the first set, but after losing the opener, fourth seeds sealed the second set quite comfortably 4-1. Eventually, Bencic and Cobolli made the final of the event, losing to Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova.

Alcaraz admitted afterwards just how nervous he’d been in his first competitive match in nearly five months, describing a double fault on the very first point before settling in. Interestingly, he chose to skip practice the following day, having played two matches of mixed doubles. His team framed the decision as a precaution rather than a red flag, prioritizing recovery over spending more time on court. 

The cautious approach is wise because there’s a lot he could lose if the draw goes exactly as it is expected to. Facing a resurgent Shelton or in-form Fils in the quarters, then potentially Djokovic himself in the semis, would be a brutal ask for any player working their way back from a serious injury, and the defending champion has not even got the time to shake off the rust. 

Alcaraz started the year at the top of the rankings and completed his career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open. After missing two Grand Slams where he has achieved a lot of success, he would look to redeem himself by defending his title in New York and winning the last Slam of the year.