Carlos Alcaraz eased past Roman Safiullin on return to the tour at US Open on Monday afternoon. The Spaniard registered a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win against the Russian to advance to the second round at the New York Major.

Alcaraz was making a comeback to the tour after a four-month hiatus after recovering from a wrist injury however he was able to hit the ground running.

Earlier, Alcaraz had made his competitive return while playing alongside Serena Williams in the US Open mixed doubles last week.

“It’s been a really tough five months for me, so to be able to step into Arthur Ashe [Stadium] and be able to compete again… as I said before the tournament I couldn’t have decided to come back at a better tournament, here at the US Open, here in New York,” Alcaraz said. “It’s a really special place for me, a special tournament for me.

“I tried to enjoy as much as I can. I missed it. I missed the crowd, the energy. I missed the competition. I missed everything, so I’m just really happy I was able to compete again.”

The Spaniard admitted he had doubts in his mind about the match as he was making a comeback after a long time.

“I had] some doubts [about] the match, I’m not going to lie,” Alcaraz said, when asked how his wrist had felt. “I’ve been thinking about, ‘I’m going to last a match of best of five. I’m going to last playing four sets, five sets, I don’t know.’ So I had a little bit of doubt, but I tried to forget everything and be focused on the things I had to do, the things that I tried to improve.

“I was thinking, ‘Let’s see what is going to happen in the match’. I’m just happy that I won in straight sets, another win, and physically I just played really well.”

Alcaraz is looking to become the first player to defend the US Open title since Roger Federer won the titles on five occasions on the bounce.

Alcaraz will face Portugal’s Jaime Faria on Wednesday.