"The question is, how low is his low": Patrick Mouratoglou sends Carlos Alcaraz a big US Open warning as lack of action could halt New York run

Friday, 28 August 2026 at 14:00

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Patrick Mouratoglou is intrigued as to how low the low of Carlos Alcaraz is as he prepares to defend his US Open title after more than four months off the court due to injury. The Spaniard will be the obvious favourite for the title due to his past success and being the defacto top player in tennis.

But the issue could be his end is that he could feasibly lose quite early in the tournament. He has not played since injuring his wrist in mid April at the Barcelona Open and many thought he would not feature at all at Flushing Meadows after pulling out of Cincinnati.

But he is back in the draw in New York. He played two games this week and also lost comfortably to Daniel Merida in a warm-up match. But he also played with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles and he seems to be fit and ready for his title defence.

However his lack of match practice and time off injured cannot go unnoticed as Mouratoglou is intrigued to see what indication he gives on court as to his current level and how long is his top level going to last and how much his low level will last too and how he manages to navigate adversity.

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"Is he ready to win the US Open? 99% of players cannot play consistently at the very high level throughout a five-set match. The question that I will ask myself while watching Carlos Alcaraz’s first round is: how low is his low level?" said Mouratoglou on Instagram.

“Because his high will always be crazy high. The question is, how low is his low, but also how long does the low last? Is it going to be one full set or just one game and then, right after, he’s going to break back, for example?

“So that will be very important. If he checks out for long periods and is very much up and down, then we can worry.”

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Safiullin awaits

He faces Roman Safiullin early who has already beaten him before at the 2023 Paris Masters and is a real danger man. He took Novak Djokovic into deep water at Wimbledon earlier this year and is known as a bit of a spoiler.

But he is delighted to be back and like Mouratoglou, the intrigue for most people will be how he reaches his level he had before while fighting for a title without the reps under his belt. An interesting time awaits.

“After a couple of months recovering from my injury, I miss everything. I miss this place, I miss the crowd, I miss the ball kids. I think I couldn’t have started at a better place than here, so I feel very grateful. I’m just happy.”

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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