New York (AFP) – Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz overcame a second, more demanding test at the US Open on Wednesday, where champion Aryna Sabalenka mercilessly pushed another rival out of the way.

First modification: 09/02/2026 - 20:11 Last modification: 09/03/2026 - 07:32

Alcaraz, the defending men's title in New York, had to come back from a set down against the Portuguese Jaime Faria, another step forward in his return to competition after four months injured.

The Portuguese, number 72 in the ATP, was a more demanding opponent than the Russian Roman Safiullin in his debut, but the Spanish star ended up prevailing 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 and 6-2.

After exceeding expectations against Safiullin, Alcaraz appeared in the same night shift that already experienced a fall by Novak Djokovic and an ordeal by Alexander Zverev, the other favorites in a tournament from which Jannik Sinner was absent due to injury.

The Spaniard also found an inspired opponent who took the first set from him. Tempering his nerves, he calmly took the blow and rolled up his sleeves to look for solutions that would change the dynamics of the game.

The distance between both players began to be reflected on the scoreboard, with Alcaraz catching the second set at love and tying it with another set of 6-3.

Faria arrived without hope in the last round and Alcaraz sealed the victory after two hours and 40 minutes that can help him gain the pace for greater challenges.

"It was a difficult game for me," acknowledged the Spaniard, who debuted a new celebration imitating the launching of an arrow into the stands on center court.

"My little brothers are here and they told me that if I won we would do the bow and arrow. They did it from the box and I did it from the track, it was a celebration for them," he explained.

His next obstacle will be the Chinese Wu Yibing, world number 113, whom he defeated in his only previous match in 2024.

Jódar, nightmare debut

On its third wet day, the US Open finally managed to complete the opening round.

Among the rescheduled matches on Tuesday was the long-awaited debut of the Spanish jewel Rafael Jódar, protagonist of one of the most meteoric emergences in men's tennis in memory.

The fans of New York, where he was crowned junior champion two years ago, saw him arrive as twelfth seed and were amazed to see how he melted against the Chinese Bu Yunchaokete, number 124 in the world ranking.

Bu, who entered the draw at the last minute due to an injury, overwhelmed an unrecognizable Jódar 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1 in the first victory of his career in a Grand Slam.

"I'm new to the circuit, things like this are going to happen," recalled Jódar, who at 19 years old advanced to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and the semifinals of the Montreal Masters 1000.

Navone continues to demolish giants

Another of the pending first round games was that of the Peruvian Ignacio Buse, who knocked down the experienced local Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8) and 6-1.

The weather also forced the match to be interrupted when the South American dominated 4-3 in the third set.

"It is difficult to find calm in those situations, but it is a very special victory," said Buse, the third Peruvian to win a match this century in New York after Juan Pablo Varillas and Luis Horna.

South American tennis also enjoyed another success from the Argentine Mariano Navone.

After his historic victory against Djokovic, Navone defeated a former Wimbledon finalist, the Italian Matteo Berrettini, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and 7-6 (7/4).

"After beating Djokovic on the Arthur Ashe (court), the impact it had, we had to go down and it's difficult," he acknowledged.

Navone will debut in the third round against another Argentine, Tomás Etcheverry, who beat Jacob Fearnley (101st) 6-3, 6-3, 3-6 and 6-3.

Medvedev to his own

Under cover, Daniil Medvedev offered another convincing performance to dispatch the American Sebastian Gorzny, number 731 in the world ranking, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.

The Russian, champion in 2021, continues to advance quietly in an open prediction tournament.

On the second line, figures like the American Ben Shelton are still not convincing, who sweated again on Wednesday to overcome the second round against the Polish Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/3) and 7-5.

Sabalenka doesn't need an hour

In the women's division, champion Aryna Sabalenka only needed 54 minutes to dispatch Russian Polina Iatcenko with a double 6-1.

Sabalenka had a brilliant start, stringing together the first five games of the match and pocketing the first set in 24 minutes.

"I am happy with my level and concentration today," declared the world number one, who will face the Uzbek Kamilla Rakhimova (92nd) in the third phase.

© 2026 AFP

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.