Brilliant Botic hands Alcaraz worst Grand Slam defeat since 2021
World No 74 Botic van de Zandschulp beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in second round of US Open on Thursday
Botic Van de Zandschulp and Carlos Alcaraz, US Open 2024
Image Credit: Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
In an expected turn of events, world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of Dutch Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the US Open at Arthur Ashe on Thursday. The match went beyond the two-hour mark with the scoreline reading 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the world No 74’s favor.
Zandschulp produced an impressive display of serve and volley as he ended with an average of 80 percent (28/35) on net point conversion, outdoing the master of drop shots by 18 percent. Though he committed seven double faults, he landed 66 percent of his first serves and won 78 percent of those points (49/63).
Alcaraz, on the other hand, stood with an inferior success rate of 61 percent on the first serve landing and could convert only 60 percent (26/43) of those points. Also, he committed a total of 27 unforced errors, drawing sighs from the New York crowd.
Zandschulp notably defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, the former world No 10, in straight sets (6-4, 7-5, 6-4) in the first round.
“I got a lot of confidence from the last match. I played really solid last match,” the Dutchman said in his on-court interview. “From point on here today I believed that I could make a chance… you see how it sometimes turns out. Defending well. I think I saw some of his stats that he won an unbelievable amount of points at the net. So my coach wanted me to be a little bit more aggressive. I think I did that really well today.”
For Alcaraz, the loss marks his worst result at the Grand Slam level since 2021 when he faced a second round exit from the Wimbledon Championships, losing 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 to Daniil Medvedev.
“Actually, I am a little bit lost for words. It’s been an incredible evening. Unbelievable match.”
Botic van de Zandschulp
Botic van de Zandschulp won all three sets with holds to love against Carlos Alcaraz
Zandschulp was off the blocks in a flash as he unsettled Alcaraz by breaking him in his first service game of the match and raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. The world No 74 converted another break point in the sixth game and then held to love to claim the set.
Zandschulp struck first again in the second set by breaking Alcaraz in the third game but the Spaniard broke back immediately to get back on serve. But the relentless Dutchman secured another break in the 11th game and again held to love to double his lead.
The third set unfolded in a similar fashion with the four-time Grand Slam champion breaking once and Botic van de Zandschulp doing it twice. Interestingly, he served the match out with another hold to love, showcasing composure worthy of applause, to shut the door on the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion.
“Of course I had some nerves,” Zandschulp added in the interview. “But I think if you want to beat one of these guys, you have to be unbelievably calm and keep your head, otherwise they take so easily advantage of it.”
Botic van de Zandschulp will next face Jack Draper, the seed No 5 from Britain, in the third round.
