Unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp caused an almighty US Open upset by stunning Carlos Alcaraz 6-1 7-5 6-4 in the second round on Thursday night.
The world No 3 came into the tournament in New York aiming to make it three Grand Slam titles in a row, having triumphed at the French Open and Wimbledon.
But Alcaraz never recovered from a shaky start and made a number of unforced errors throughout the contest as Van de Zandschulp ended the Spaniard’s hopes with the result of his life.
It was Alcaraz’s first loss in the second round of a major since 2021 at Wimbledon, where the then-world No 75 fell to second seed Daniil Medvedev.
Van de Zandschulp, who has previously been ranked as high as 22 in the world, will next play British No 1 Jack Draper in the third round Saturday – live on Sky Sports Tennis.
“I am a little bit lost for words, it has been an incredible evening for me,” De Zandschulp, who had never beaten a top-10 player at a Grand Slam, said. “It’s an unbelievable night.
“I got a lot of confidence from the last match. From point one I believed I had a chance and you can see how it sometimes turns out.
“I had some nerves but if you want to beat one of these guys you have to be calm and keep your head otherwise they can take advantage.”
Alcaraz was on the back foot early on as Van de Zandschulp claimed the opening three games with some resolute defending from the back of the court, and the Dutchman broke again en route to taking the first set.
Alcaraz, the four-time Grand Slam winner, struggled to close out points with Van de Zandschulp breaking for a 2-1 lead.
A tactical tweak to return serve from deeper helped 21-year-old Alcaraz hit back immediately but the 2022 champion gifted his opponent another break with a double fault and Van de Zandschulp went on to comfortably double his advantage in the match.
After briefly leaving the court before the third set, Alcaraz found himself in deeper trouble after a wayward forehand handed Van de Zandschulp a break.
Alcaraz quickly overturned that and held to go 4-3 before beginning to smile and interact as if the scoreline was in his favour.
There was a sense that the comeback may be starting but the 28-year-old Van de Zandschulp got his nose in front and completed a stunning upset on serve in front of a stunned Arthur Ashe crowd.
“I don’t know what to say right now. I think he played great. He played really good tennis. I thought he was going to give me more free points,” said Alcaraz. “He didn’t make a lot of mistakes that I thought he was going to do. I was confused a little bit. I didn’t know how to manage that, how to deal with it. I couldn’t increase my level.
“I think my level stayed at the same point all the match, and it wasn’t enough to win the match or to give myself the chance to getting into the match or trying to give myself chances.
“What can I say? I didn’t feel well hitting the ball. I think I made a lot of mistakes. When I wanted to come back or I think I wanted to come back, it was too late.”
He added: “The tennis schedule is so tight. I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately, you know, with Roland Garros, with Wimbledon, Olympic Games.
“I took a little break after the Olympic Games. I thought it was enough. It was really helpful for me. Probably it wasn’t enough.”
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in September?
- Jasmin Open, Tunisia – WTA 250 (9-15 September)
- Guadalajara Open, Mexico – WTA 500 (9-15 September)
- Korea Open – WTA 500 (16 -22 September – with Emma Raducanu in action)
- Thailand Open – WTA 250 (16 -22 September)
- Chengdu Open, China – ATP 250 (18-24 September)
- Hangzhou Open, China – ATP 250 (18-24 September)
- China Open – WTA 1000 (Sept 25 – Oct 6)
- Japan Open – ATP 500 (Sept 25 – Oct 1)
- China Open – ATP 500 (Sept 26 – Oct 2)
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