One of the leading contenders to win the 2024 US Open men's singles title was eliminated in the second round.
Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year, suffered a shock defeat in straight sets in the second round to Botich van de Zandthurp of the Netherlands.
Van de Zantschulp, 28, of Wageningen, Netherlands, entered the match against Alcaraz after beating Denis Shapovalov in the first round with an 87-83 record and a 10-18 record this year.
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Spain's Carlos Alcaraz takes on Botich van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands during day four of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
But from the very beginning of the match, it was clear that van de Zantschulp had no nerves whatsoever facing Alcaraz, the 21-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion.
Van de Zantschulp won the first set 6-1 with a commanding victory after Alcaraz blasted a serve return over the baseline on triple set point.
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The Spaniard went from there onwards, but van de Zantschulp still took the lead to pull off a major upset by winning the set 7-5 in the tiebreak.
We've seen in the past what Alcaraz can do when he's in a tight spot, but van de Zantschulp outplayed him again in the third set, defeating Alcaraz 6-4 in front of an astounded New York City crowd.
Botich van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands defeats Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during day four of the 2024 U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
Thus, the No. 3 ranked men's singles player and fan favorite was eliminated from the final Grand Slam of the year. Alcaraz had never lost at the U.S. Open until the quarterfinals in his previous three appearances.
Alcaraz entered Thursday unbeaten in 15 Grand Slam matches, but while van de Zantschulp played well, especially when hitting the ball with his forehand, Alcaraz was sloppy overall and repeatedly got hurt.
Van de Zantschulp had played Alcaraz twice before, with the Spaniard winning both times, but the tall Dutchman's serve, which reached 132 mph, overpowered Alcaraz.
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts during his first round men's singles match against Li Tu of Australia during day two of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2024 in New York City. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
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As Alcaraz reviewed the video to try to work out what went wrong, van de Zantschulp advanced to the third round where he will face another No. 25 ranked opponent, Great Britain's Jack Draper.
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