Botic van de Zandschulp stunned the tennis world last night, as he dumped Carlos Alcaraz out of the US Open in straight sets.
It is one of the biggest upsets not just in the history of this competition, but in any Grand Slam, as the world number74 has left one of the hot favourites red-faced.
Naturally, Carlos Alcaraz was poor, but to discredit the Dutchman’s quality would be disingenuous.
Upon assessing the match, the young superstar admitted that he might have a problem.
Carlos Alcaraz left stunned at the US Open
Speaking to the press just after his shocking defeat, arguably one of the most stunning in recent memory, the 21-year-old admitted that he had a problem.
After all, having crashed out of the Cincinnati Open early as well, his post-match ramblings cut a frustrated figure who simply did not know what to do when presented with such pushback.
Now, echoing that sentiment, the Spaniard claimed: ‘A few matches that I have felt like that.
‘After every match that I felt like that I always said the same, to learn about it, to think about it and if I’m thinking what I’m thinking right now.
‘That’s the problem. If I am going to sit here after the matches that I am going to feel and felt like that that I couldn’t deal with it, or change the match, or push me up a little bit and say that I had to think about it and learn about it but never change, it’s going to be really tough if I want to improve.’
The men’s US Open draw has just been blown wide open
Well, with Alcaraz out of the event, a path has been paved for one of Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic to likely cruise to the title.
After all, the youngster had gained something of a monopoly over the majors in recent months, having won Roland Garros and Wimbledon with an alarming degree of ease.
Everyone knows the quality he possesses, but it seems there is something about the hard courts this season that has stumped him.
That would therefore explain why Carlos Alcaraz complained about the conditions in Cincinnati, and then exited early in New York, where little had changed.
It seems that he has lost both the physical and mental battle in the last few weeks, unsurprisingly burnt out from all the tennis he has played.
And, in doing so, left a wide-open run for his rivals.
Jack Draper is likely the first player who will benefit more than most, as he now only has van de Zandschulp to face in the next round, rather than the world number three and 2022 US Open champion.
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