By Ezekiel David
Dutch tennis player Botic van de Zandschulp pulled off a major upset at the US Open, defeating world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round on Thursday night.
After winning the French Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz had great expectations competing to win a third Grand Slam championship in a row. But from the outset, the Spaniard found it difficult, making a lot of unforced errors that the unseeded Van de Zandschulp exploited to earn the greatest victory of his professional career.
This defeat marked Alcaraz’s first second-round exit at a major since Wimbledon 2021, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
Van de Zandschulp, who has been ranked as high as No. 22 in the world, is now set to face British No. 1 Jack Draper in the third round.
“I’m a little bit lost for words; it’s been an incredible evening for me,” Van de Zandschulp said after the match. “It’s an unbelievable night. I got a lot of confidence from my last match. From the first point, I believed I had a chance, and you can see how sometimes it turns out.”
Alcaraz found himself on the defensive early as Van de Zandschulp secured the first three games with strong baseline play. The Dutchman broke again to claim the first set.
In the second set, Alcaraz made a brief comeback, adjusting his return position and breaking back right away, but in the end, he stumbled and gave Van de Zandschulp another break with a double fault.
Alcaraz struggled again and lost another break to Van de Zandschulp after leaving the court before the third set. Van de Zandschulp finished the game in front of an astounded Arthur Ashe Stadium audience despite the Spaniard’s comeback to tie the score at 4-3.
Alcaraz admitted he was surprised by Van de Zandschulp’s level of play, saying, “I think he played great. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I couldn’t increase my level, and it wasn’t enough to win the match.”
Reflecting on his performance, Alcaraz added, “The tennis schedule is so tight. I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately. I took a little break after the Olympic Games, but it probably wasn’t enough.”
(Source: Sky Sports)
