Carlos Alcaraz’s stunning exit from the US Open to Botic van de Zandschulp has caused an illustrious 25-year-streak to end.
I suppose perhaps Carlos Alcaraz was simply due an early grand slam exit.
It’s a rite of passage for all the top players to bow out to somebody few have previously heard of just for aforementioned ‘nobody’ to then get beaten in the following round. But that’s tennis.
Since becoming a top 10 player, the lowest opponent to beat Alvarez at a grand slam was Jannik Sinner, when he was seeded 12th at the 2022 Wimbledon.
And to be fair, Sinner’s not turned out to be a slightly random ATP player floating around the top 100.
Nevertheless, Alcaraz was brutally outplayed to a variety of precise and clinical Botic van de Zandschulp shot-making.
Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat closes the door on 25-year Spanish tennis streak
Alcaraz was quick to admit he had a problem after his US Open defeat with the Spaniard reflecting on his recent lack of ability to change his fortunes mid-match.
In a sign of utter humility too, Alcaraz was quick to praise Van de Zandschulp who shone throughout what ended up miraculously becoming a rather straight forward victory.
The 20-year-old’s defeat however marks the first time since 1999 that there are no Spanish players into the third round of a Men’s singles grand slam.
With Rafael Nadal’s US Open absence and impending retirement, Alcaraz is the sole Spaniard currently leading the line, with Pedro Martinez the next best ranked in 42nd.
Is Carlos Alcaraz still struggling from Olympic defeat to Novak Djokovic?
With a painful defeat in Paris under a month ago, it feels reasonable that Alcaraz might still be struggling from Olympic defeat, despite his insistence that it didn’t factor into this latest upset.
The Olympic final might end up representing this sort of bizarre there hours of pure intensity that completely waylays the campaigns of both finalists.
While Novak Djokovic’s continued elation is of court different to Alcaraz, whose silver medal comes more as a bitter reminder rather than a token of achievement, the Serb too looks a shadow of his Parisian self.
With over 60 unforced errors so far and a serve totally out of sorts, Djokovic’s next match against Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin will be a considerable test of his current level.
It’s vastly out of character to think Djokovic might take his foot off the gas, but the Olympic relief may well have unconsciously done it for him.
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