Botic van de Zandschulp upsets Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open
In a surprising turn of events during the second round of the US Open on Thursday night, Carlos Alcaraz, after a double fault and falling behind two sets to none, slung his equipment bag over his shoulder and trudged toward the locker room. Clearly frustrated, he signaled to his coach, former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, that he wasn't thinking clearly.
What unfolded under the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium left many stunned. Alcaraz’s 15-match Grand Slam unbeaten streak was snapped with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Botic van de Zandschulp, ranked 74th in the world. Alcaraz admitted, "It was a fight against myself, in my mind, during the match... I was playing against the opponent and against myself."
Despite entering the tournament as the pre-tournament men's favorite, Alcaraz struggled to find his rhythm. His opponent, the 28-year-old Dutchman, capitalized on his mistakes and put on an impressive display, particularly at the net, winning 28 of his 35 trips.
Alcaraz, who has been on a hot streak this year, winning both the French Open and Wimbledon, never quite found his footing. His loss marked his earliest exit in a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2021. Van de Zandschulp, on the other hand, expressed his disbelief: "Actually, I am a little bit at a loss for words. It’s been an incredible evening for me."
While Alcaraz briefly mounted a comeback in the third set, he was ultimately undone by his errors, and Van de Zandschulp held firm to close out the victory. Alcaraz's exit was one of the biggest shocks of the tournament, making him the first top-three men's seed to lose in the early rounds of the US Open since 2006.
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