 "US Open 2024: Carlos Alcaraz shocked in straight sets in second round defeat")
Third seed Carlos Alcaraz was sent packing from the US Open in a shock straight sets defeat at the hands of World No. 74 Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round on Friday.
The World No. 3 Alcaraz was beaten 1-6, 5-7, 4-6 in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes. It ended the Spaniard’s bid to become just the third man in the Open Era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same year.
Alcaraz had made at least the quarter-finals in his three previous appearances in New York and the defeat on Thursday defeat was his earliest at a Grand Slam since a second round exit at Wimbledon in 2021.
“I’m a little lost for words,” said van de Zandschulp after only his second career win over a top five player.
“It was an incredible evening out here in my first time in the night session on Arthur Ashe. I had some unbelievable points at the net.
“I tried to stay calm. You have to keep your head against these guys otherwise they will take advantage.”
Botic van de Zandschulp just knocked Carlos Alcaraz out of the US Open! pic.twitter.com/QK3ZrkoPgx
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2024
Alcaraz’s lacklustre performance on the Arthur Ashe Stadium followed on from a poor show in Cincinnati where he smashed a racquet in frustration and labelled it the ‘worst match’ of his career. Prior to that, he had lost in the final of the Paris Olympics and apologised to Spain for letting the country down.
On Thursday, Alcaraz’s drop in form and intensity was clear as he hit 27 unforced errors, won only 60% of his first serve points and just 35% of the points on return.
Alcaraz, the 2022 US Open champion, was drawn to meet Jannik Sinner, who progressed with ease earlier in the day, in the semi-finals. In the first round he had needed four sets to see off Australian qualifier Li Tu and appeared on court with his left thigh heavily strapped.
That proved the least of his problems as he dropped serve twice in the opening set, failing to hit a single winner against his 28-year-old opponent, who made the quarter-finals on his debut in 2021.
Alcaraz squandered break points in the second game of the second set and the Dutchman made him pay with a break of his own for a 2-1 lead in front of a stunned crowd.
The 2022 champion hit back immediately to level at 2-2 but it was a brief respite from his troubles as his inspired opponent broke again for 6-5 and took the set when Alcaraz fired a service return wide.
The 21-year-old had never had to come back from a two sets deficit in his young career and went into Thursday’s match with a 2-0 head-to-head edge over the Dutchman.
However, he slipped 2-3 down, recovered to 3-3, greeting the rare chink of light with a wide grin, but was then broken again in the ninth game.
Van de Zandschulp was not to be denied and claimed victory when Alcaraz fired his 27th and final unforced error of the contest.
Van de Zandschulp is the first Dutchman to defeat a top-three player at a Grand Slam since Richard Krajicek beat top-ranked Pete Sampras in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 1996.
He is the first from his country to achieve it at the US Open since his coach Paul Haarhuis knocked out Boris Becker in the third round in 1991.
Dutch Van de Zandschulp will next face Britain’s Jack Draper in the third round.
‘Playing against myself’
2021 was the first year Carlos Alcaraz played Grand Slam main draws. pic.twitter.com/t2mTxsh5ah
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2024
Alcaraz said he was playing against himself as much as the opponent.
“Today I was playing against the opponent, and I was playing against myself, you know, in my mind,” he said. “I mean, a lot of emotions that I couldn’t control.
“I was up in some points. Then I lose some points. I get down. It was a rollercoaster, let’s say, in my mind,” added the world number three, who was trying to become just the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year.
The Spaniard admitted that Van de Zandschulp surprised him with his level of play.
“He didn’t make a lot of mistakes that I thought he was going to do,” Alcaraz said. “So I was, you know, confusing a little bit. I didn’t know how to manage that, how to deal with it.
“I couldn’t increase my level. I think my level stayed at the same point all the match, and it wasn’t enough to win the match or to give myself the chance to get into the match or try to give myself chances.”
The 21-year-old said it’s not the first time he’s felt unable to take control of a match.
He sounded frustrated that he hasn’t figured out how to solve the problem.
“I’m thinking right now that I’m not changing, and that’s the problem,” he said. “So I have to think about it, I have to learn about it.”
Alcaraz, who swept past Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final then fell to the Serb at the Paris Olympics, refused to blame the jam-packed schedule for a dip in energy.
“I took a little break after the Olympic Games. I thought it was enough. Probably it wasn’t enough. Probably I came here without as much energy as I thought I was going to (have).
“I don’t want to put that as an excuse. I have to think about it and I have to learn about it.”
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