US Open: Alcaraz shows his strength at Flushing Meadows, and Sabalenka strikes fear into opponents

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz took another step toward the U.S. Open title after defeating a tougher opponent in the second round who managed to push him to the limit in the first set. On the women's side, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka mercilessly crushed another opponent in her quest to retain the title and maintain her world No. 1 ranking.

Alcaraz, who is also defending the men's title in New York, had to come back from a set down against Portugal's Jaime Faria, marking another step forward in his return to competition after four months on the sidelines due to injury. The Portuguese player, ranked No. 72 by the ATP, proved to be a tougher opponent than Russia's Roman Safiullin in his opening match, but the Spanish star ultimately prevailed 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 and 6-2.

After exceeding expectations against Safiullin, Alcaraz took the court in the same evening session where he had previously suffered a loss to Novak Djokovic and a grueling match for Alexander Zverev, the other favorites in a tournament from which Jannik Sinner was absent due to injury.

The Spaniard also faced an inspired opponent who snatched the first set from him. Keeping his nerves in check, he calmly absorbed the blow and rolled up his sleeves to find solutions that would shift the momentum of the match.

Alcaraz's body is responding well after the injury and his mind remains strong

The gap between the two players began to show on the scoreboard, with Alcaraz taking the second set to love and pulling ahead with another 6-3 set. Faria went into the final set with little hope left, and Alcaraz sealed the victory after two hours and 40 minutes, a match that could help him gain experience for greater challenges.

"It was a difficult match for me," acknowledged the Spaniard in remarks reported by AFP, as he debuted a new celebration mimicking the release of an arrow into the stands of Center Court. "My younger brothers are here, and they told me that if I won, we'd do the bow and arrow. They did it from the box and I did it from the court, it was a celebration for them," he explained.

His next opponent will be China's Wu Yibing, ranked 113th in the world, whom he defeated in their only previous match in 2024.

A nightmare for Jódar in his debut

On its third rain-delayed day, the U.S. Open finally managed to complete the opening round. Among Tuesday's rescheduled matches was the highly anticipated debut of Spanish rising star Rafael Jódar, the star of one of the most meteoric rises in recent men's tennis history.

The New York crowd, where he was crowned junior champion two years ago, saw him enter as the 12th seed and was stunned to watch him crumble against China's Bu Yunchaokete, ranked 124th in the world.

Bu, who entered the draw at the last minute due to an injury, swept aside an unrecognizable Jódar 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in the first Grand Slam victory of his career. "I'm new to the circuit; things like this are bound to happen," recalled Jódar, who, at age 19, advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the semifinals of the Montreal Masters 1000.

Full day of play following Tuesday's rain-induced cancellations

Another pending first-round match was that of Peruvian Ignacio Buse, who defeated veteran local player Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8) and 6-1. The weather also forced a suspension of the match when the South American was leading 4-3 in the third set.

"It's hard to stay calm in those situations, but it's a very special victory," said Buse, the third Peruvian to win a match in New York this century, following Juan Pablo Varillas and Luis Horna.

Navone, Djokovic's conqueror, moves on

South American tennis also enjoyed another upset by Argentine Mariano Navone. Following his historic victory over 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 Arthur Ashe Court, the buzz around that win was huge, I had to come back down to earth, and that's tough," he acknowledged. Navone will make his third-round debut against another Argentine, Tomás Etcheverry, who defeated Jacob Fearnley, ranked No. 101, 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Under the roof, Daniil Medvedev delivered another convincing performance to dispatch American Sebastian Gorzny, ranked 731st in the world, 6-1, 6-3 and 7-5.

The Russian, the 2021 champion, continues to advance quietly in a tournament with an open outcome.

In the second round, players such as American Ben Shelton have yet to impress; on Wednesday, he once again had to work hard to advance past the second round against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, winning 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/3) and 7-5.

Sabalenka didn't even need an hour

In the women's draw, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka needed just 54 minutes to dispatch Russia's Polina Iatcenko in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

Sabalenka got off to a blistering start, winning the first five games of the match and clinching the first set in 24 minutes. "I'm happy with my level of play and focus today," said the world No. 1, who will face Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova, ranked 92nd, in the third round.