Unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp brought on an almighty US Open upset by beautiful Carlos Alcaraz 6-1 7-5 6-4 within the second spherical on Thursday evening.
The world No 3 got here into the event in New York aiming to make it three Grand Slam titles in a row, having triumphed on the French Open and Wimbledon.
However Alcaraz by no means recovered from a shaky begin and made a variety of unforced errors all through the competition as Van de Zandschulp ended the Spaniard’s hopes with the results of his life.
It was Alcaraz’s first loss within the second spherical of a serious since 2021 at Wimbledon, the place the then-world No 75 fell to second seed Daniil Medvedev.
Van de Zandschulp, who has beforehand been ranked as excessive as 22 on the earth, will subsequent play British No 1 Jack Draper within the third spherical Saturday – dwell on Sky Sports activities Tennis.
“I am a little bit lost for words, it has been an incredible evening for me,” De Zandschulp, who had by no means overwhelmed a top-10 participant at a grand slam, mentioned. “It is an unbelievable evening.
“I received loads of confidence from the final match. From level one I believed I had an opportunity and you may see the way it generally seems.
“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.”
The 21-year-old was on the again foot early on as Van de Zandschulp claimed the opening three video games with some resolute defending from the again of the court docket, and the Dutchman broke once more en path to taking the primary set.
Alcaraz, the four-time Grand Slam winner, struggled to shut out factors with Van de Zandschulp breaking for a 2-1 lead.
A tactical tweak to return serve from deeper helped Alcaraz hit again instantly however the 2022 champion gifted his opponent one other break with a double fault and Van de Zandschulp went on to comfortably double his benefit within the match.
After briefly leaving the court docket earlier than the third set, Alcaraz discovered himself in deeper hassle after a wayward forehand handed Van de Zandschulp a break.
Alcaraz shortly overturned that and held to go 4-3 earlier than starting to smile and work together as if the scoreline was in his favour.
There was a way that the comeback could also be beginning however the 28-year-old Van de Zandschulp received his nostril in entrance and accomplished a shocking upset on serve in entrance of a surprised 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,” mentioned 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 believe my degree stayed on the similar level all of the match, and it wasn’t sufficient to win the match or to offer myself the possibility to moving into the match or making an attempt to offer myself possibilities.
“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 bit break after the Olympic Video games. I believed it was sufficient. It was actually useful for me. Most likely it wasn’t sufficient.”
What’s developing on Sky Sports activities 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 motion)
- 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)
Sky Sports activities+ has formally launched and will likely be built-in into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports activities app, giving Sky Sports activities clients entry to over 50 per cent extra dwell sport this 12 months at no additional value. Discover out extra right here.
