Carlos Alcaraz was on the wrong end of the upset of the year at the US Open.
The world No. 3 was shocked 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round at Flushing Meadows by the unseeded Botic Van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, ending his bid to win his third straight Grand Slam.
The fall wasn’t a gradual process either. Alcaraz came out flat as can be in the first set, not scoring a single winner in seven games, and he still didn’t have much bite on his serve in the second. Meanwhile, Van de Zandschulp, ranked 74th in the world, was playing some of the best tennis of his career.
Alcaraz stepped away from the court after the second set to get his rackets restrung. Whether that move was born of a legitimate concern, a mind game or an attempt to reset himself, it didn’t work. The power went out for the most electric player in tennis, on the court where he achieved stardom two years ago.
There was a brief moment when a comeback looked possible, after Alcaraz prevented Van de Zandschulp from consolidating a break. He had never come back from down two sets to none, but he looked confident, the crowd was behind him and he had a couple of magical points that have become his signature.
And then Van de Zandschulp broke him again three games later. One hold of serve later, and the match was over. Alcaraz politely waved to the friendly crowd, which had just watched two hours of some of the worst tennis of his career, and walked off the court.
One fan was more stunned than others, though. One bettor reportedly put $25,000 down on Alcaraz to win the match with BetMGM, at -10000 odds. The payout had Alcaraz won: $250.
Carlos Alcaraz’s upset loss is an enormous development
Van de Zandschulp will advance to face No. 25 seed Jack Draper in the third round. It is a potentially career-changing shift for a player who was once ranked No. 22 in the world, but saw a total loss of form this year. This is the first time he has advanced to the third round of an ATP-sanctioned tournament all year.
He did it by beating the 21-year-old wünderkind widely expected to take over tennis over the next decade, a person who had beaten him in straight sets in their other two meetups.
Alcaraz’s exit is a massive development across the draw in New York. The Spaniard was the betting favorite by BetMGM before the tournament, but even his first-round match against qualifier Li Tu saw him encounter more resistance than you’d expect from a player of his caliber.
His loss is a nice development for Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, one of whom was likely going to face Alcaraz in the semifinal. Even Novak Djokovic can breathe a little easier, having lost to Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon last month (before beating him in the Olympic final).
This upset also comes after No. 7 seed Hubert Hurkacz’s own straight-set loss on Thursday. Because Hurkacz and Alcaraz were in the same quarter of the bracket, the top player left who can take that slot in the semifinal is No. 10 Alex de Minaur.
