Carlos Alcaraz is still in the field for the US Open. Three days after pulling out of the Cincinnati Masters 1000, the Spaniard is entered for the last Grand Slam of the season, the one he won a year ago and comes back to defend.
Alcaraz remains on the US Open entry list as defending champion, but he has not played a competitive match since Barcelona in April. The right wrist has run his calendar ever since. Tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the sheath that protects the tendon, kept him out of Roland-Garros, where he was defending the title, and then out of Wimbledon. He is still ranked No. 2 in the world.
What he puts on the line in New York is substantial. Last September he beat Jannik Sinner in four sets in the final, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, for a second title at Flushing Meadows. His most recent major came in January at the Australian Open, where he got past Novak Djokovic to complete the career Grand Slam and collect a seventh major.
Sinner arrives by a very different road. The Italian is world No. 1 and kept his Wimbledon title in July against Alexander Zverev, a fifth major. He then skipped Montreal to rest, and went through a scheduled medical check in Milan, at Dr Piero Volpi's Physioclinic. Nothing points to a serious problem. He is due to fly to the United States on 9 August and to play Cincinnati, his only event before New York.
The American swing is running without them so far. Taylor Fritz took Washington on 3 August against Spain's Rafael Jodar, 7-6(2), 6-4, his first title of the year. The Canadian Open started with no Sinner, no Djokovic and no Alcaraz.
In Ohio, tournament director Bob Moran kept it plain: "We know Carlos is doing everything he can to get back to playing tournaments as soon as possible."
The US Open main draw starts on 30 August. Neither Sinner nor Alcaraz entered the mixed doubles, where Djokovic will play alongside Aryna Sabalenka. One question stays open: how many matches Alcaraz will have played before he walks on court at Flushing Meadows.
