Carlos Alcaraz is out of the US Open after ‘flying Dutchman’ Botic van de Zandschulp cruised into the third round.
It’s one thing to mess with the script, but Botic van de Zandschulp decided to completely rip it up.
Whether the shocked intake of air happened when fans woke up to the result, or after double-taking that it was actually Carlos Alcaraz waving his way off Arthur Ashe, the tennis world remains in disbelief.
Nobody predicted this one, and certainly nobody predicted how one-sided it ended up being.
In straight sets, the Dutchman was simply shot-perfect in what became a swift and precise dismantling of the man who skipped over the Wimbledon finish line last month.
Carlos Alcaraz praises Botic van de Zandschulp after shock US Open defeat
Alcaraz secured his first Grand Slam title on this very court; proved to the world that he was truly here.
Under the lights this time he was utterly outplayed, with Alcaraz admitting he has a ‘problem’ after the defeat.
Keen to highlight the fact that high level his opponent brought to the contest, Alcaraz said: “I don’t know what to say right now. First of all he played great. He played really good tennis. I thought he would give me more free points. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes I thought he was going to make.. it was confusing a bit.
“I didn’t know how to manage or deal with it,” he admitted. “I couldn’t increase my level. I think my level stayed the same the whole match. It wasn’t enough to do it or to give myself the chance to get into the match or try to give myself chances.
“So what can I say? I didn’t feel well hitting the ball. I made a lot of mistakes. When I wanted to come back it was too late.”
Whether Alcaraz is still reeling from Olympic defeat to Novak Djokovic or just simply had an off-day, his hard court form has not been great coming into this year’s tournament.
At 17, Alcaraz qualified for the Australian Open for the first time and in an immediate marker of his quality, beat van de Zandschulp in straight sets.
With the Dutchman beaten once since, I suppose it was third time lucky.
What does Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat mean for the rest of the US Open draw?
With Alcaraz the assumed semi-final opponent for Jannik Sinner, the men’s draw is set to have a brand new semi-finalist.
The highest seed remaining on that side of the draw is now Alex de Minaur, with Britain’s Jack Draper next.
Having barely managed to get to New York after De Minaur’s injury at Wimbledon, he is still working towards his best level.
Draper, who also beat Alcaraz at Queen’s in June, has been playing superbly.
Despite playing van de Zandschulp next, Draper will know that having never quite made a good grand slam run, this will be his best chance so far.
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