Third seed Carlos Alcaraz suffered a momentous second-round elimination at the US Open as he was soundly defeated by unseeded Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp.
Alcaraz had aspirations of joining the ranks of Rod Laver and Rafael Nadal as the only men in the Open era to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in a single calendar year. However, the Spaniard was unable to recover from a shaky start against the 74th-ranked Van de Zandschulp, who secured a resounding victory with a scoreline of 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. This win marks the highest-ranked victory of Van de Zandschulp’s career thus far.
With this defeat, Alcaraz’s impressive 15-match winning streak at Grand Slam tournaments comes to an end.
Reflecting on his performance, Alcaraz stated, “I believe my level remained stagnant throughout the match, and it was insufficient to secure a victory or even provide myself with opportunities to get back into the match.” He added, “I struggled with my ball striking and made numerous mistakes. By the time I attempted a comeback, it was already too late.”
Throughout the match, the 21-year-old Alcaraz committed 27 unforced errors, while Van de Zandschulp made 21.
“I was taken aback by his limited mistakes, which I had anticipated. This left me feeling confused and unsure of how to adapt,” Alcaraz confessed.
Alcaraz, who secured a silver medal at the Paris Olympics following a loss to Novak Djokovic on 4th August, expressed the need for a more extended break before heading to Flushing Meadows.
“I arrived here with less energy than I anticipated. However, I do not wish to use that as an excuse,” he stated.
In an earlier match, top-ranked player Jannik Sinner convincingly defeated American Alex Michelsen with a score of 6-4 6-0 6-2, marking his 50th victory of the year.
Sinner, the Australian Open champion, is participating in his first tournament since being cleared of any wrongdoing after testing positive for a banned substance twice earlier this year.
