Through his on-court prowess and his off-court humility, Carlos Alcaraz commands a certain level of respect from his peers.
It was only the other day that Australian qualifier Li Tu referred to Alcaraz as a ‘beast’ after their US Open clash, further highlighting the high regard the Spaniard holds among his colleagues on the tour.
The 21-year-old is off the mark in his quest for a third major title this year, having soared to glory at the French Open and Wimbledon.
After falling short to Novak Djokovic in an epic Olympic final and coming unstuck by the rapid courts in Cincinnati, Alcaraz had suffered successive defeats for the first time since May heading to Flushing Meadows.
However, he snapped the string of defeats against Tu and today faces Botic van de Zandschulp for a spot in the third round.
Botic van de Zandschulp recalls playing Carlos Alcaraz for the first time
Van de Zandschulp has grappled with various injuries over the 18 months and has struggled to maintain the form that propelled him inside the world’s top 25.
The 28-year-old did well to defeat former top 10 Denis Shapovalov in his opener but now faces a tall order to progress any further at this year’s US Open, with 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz in his way.
Ahead of their clash, van de Zandschulp recalled the first time that he played Alcaraz in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open.
“What I was most impressed about was how he started, he was fully pumped, aggressive in a good way,” van de Zandschulp told ATPTour.com. “That took me a little bit off actually, I had never played him.
“Of course I’d seen him play and you hear all the talk about him. But that’s what I was most impressed about: the ferocity he was playing with, how he was hitting, the power he had – that was insane.
“It’s always nice to compare yourself to players like Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sinner. I played [Jannik] Sinner for example twice this year. First time, it’s nice. Second time in the first round, you think, ‘Man, maybe a little better later in the tournament?’
“But it’s always interesting to play these guys because I think after the match, you always know where you have to get better — which kind of situations, what kind of shots. I think you can learn a lot from those matches.”
Tough draw for van de Zandschulp
Van de Zandschulp made a name for himself at the 2021 US Open, where he rallied his way from qualifying through to the quarter-finals.
He was eventually halted by Daniil Medvedev, the eventual champion, and has not made it past the second round at Flushing Meadows since.
Having come up against Jannik Sinner in the first round in Melbourne this year, and now facing Alcaraz as early as the second round in New York, van de Zandschulp has been dealt a huge blow in his bid to reignite his best tennis.
The former world number 22 has been unable to steal a set across the five that he and Alcaraz have contested, but he will be looking to stop the rot when they take to the court tonight.
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