"Alcaraz was very close to his best level at the US Open"

For many, the return of Carlos Alcaraz felt as if he had never left. The Spaniard, who had the difficult task of measuring up four and a half months after his wrist injury, rose to the occasion despite losing in an epic quarterfinal match against Ben Shelton. Nevertheless, during his stay in New York, he had peaks of great play, especially against Tommy Paul, and left the US Open with the feeling that his comeback is already a reality.

Moreover, you only have to see the smile he had when leaving the Arthur Ashe after his battle against Shelton and his subsequent statements: “I only take positive things away”. An opinion shared by Renzo Furlan, Italian coach who has worked with Jasmin Paolini and Francesca Schiavone and currently trains Luca Nardi.

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Furlan only sees positive aspects in Alcaraz's return

“In the first two or three rounds, there were some slips and errors, but in the end, he only lost one set in the first three matches. He was in excellent physical shape, and as the days went by, you could see he was also regaining his technical and tactical qualities,” he assured in an interview with the colleagues at Ubitennis.

For Furlan, the match between Alcaraz and Tommy Paul was “perfect, at a higher level”. While in his loss to Shelton, “it was simply incredible, perhaps the best match of the US Open. Something made me reflect: in the end, I saw Alcaraz smiling a lot. I think that is an intelligent attitude because it implies seeing the bigger picture.”

For the Italian, “a loss can disappoint you, especially if your goal is to win the tournament. But you have been out for four and a half months, so you arrive with many uncertainties: Will my wrist hold up? Will I be physically prepared? In my opinion, he has only provided positive answers, regardless of the result against Shelton.”

Cue the Carlos Alcaraz break of serve! pic.twitter.com/SB8YyFHLCK

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2026

According to the coach, Alcaraz “was especially happy to have overcome his wrist problem and pleasantly surprised by his physical condition. Also, there was his tennis: we saw some things from Alcaraz. If we analyze it closely, he might still be missing something, but he remains very close to his best level.”

Furlan also took the opportunity to talk about the title of Alexander Zverev, who has won two Grand Slams in three months: “Winning Roland Garros as a favorite, with all that pressure, made him take an incredible step forward. Sinner had been eliminated, Alcaraz was injured: achieving victory in that situation gave him much more confidence. In New York, the context was similar: Sinner was absent, Alcaraz was returning, and he was the favorite. Once again, he knew how to handle it. After a difficult start, he played an incredible US Open, improving throughout the tournament.”

In fact, he believes that Sinner should not relax because the German is a serious threat in the race for number one: “He already has a 700-point lead in the Race, considering his results this season, he is currently ahead. It will be a battle until the end, especially because now they play on hard courts and then indoors, conditions in which Zverev performs very well and where Sinner probably also showcases his best tennis. So it will be a very interesting fight,” concludes Renzo Furlan, who appreciates the return of Carlos Alcaraz and warns Jannik Sinner about the intentions of Alexander Zverev.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "Alcaraz estuvo muy cerca de su mejor nivel en el US Open"