by Carlos Alcaraz was on the wrong side of the upset of the year at the US Open.
The world number 3 was shocked 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round at Flushing Meadows by unseeded Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp, ending his bid to win his third consecutive Grand Slam .
Nor was the fall a gradual process. Alcaraz came out flat as can be in the first set, without 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 walked away from the court after the second set to put his rackets back in place. Whether this decision was born out of legitimate concern, a mental game, or an attempt to reset, it didn’t work. The power went out for tennis’ most electric player, on the court where he became famous two years ago.
There was a brief moment when a comeback looked possible, after Alcaraz prevented Van de Zandschulp from consolidating his lead. He had never come back from two sets to zero, but he looked confident, the crowd was behind him and he had some magic points that became his signature.
And then Van de Zandschulp beat him again three games later. One serve later, and the match was over. Alcaraz politely waved to the friendly crowd, who had just watched two hours of some of the worst tennis of his career, and left the court.
However, one fan was more stunned than others. A bettor reportedly put $25,000 on Alcaraz to win the match with BetMGM, at odds of -10,000. The payout resulted in Alcaraz winning: $250.
Carlos Alcaraz’s upset loss is a huge development
Van de Zandschulp will face No. 25 seed Jack Draper in the third round. It’s a move that could potentially change the career of a player who was once ranked world No. 22, but has experienced a complete loss of form this year. This is the first time this year that he has advanced to the third round of an ATP-sanctioned tournament.
He did so by beating the 21-year-old prodigy widely expected to return to tennis within the next decade, someone who had beaten him in straight sets in their other two meetings.
Alcaraz’s release is a massive development in the New York draw. The Spaniard was BetMGM’s betting favorite heading into the tournament, but even his first-round match against qualifier Li Tu saw him encounter more resistance than one might expect from a player of its caliber.
His defeat is a nice development for Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, one of whom was likely to face Alcaraz in the semi-final. 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 surprise also comes after the defeat in two sets of the number 7 seed, Hubert Hurkacz, on Thursday. Since Hurkacz and Alcaraz were in the same quarter of the draw, the best remaining player who can fill that semi-final spot is No. 10 Alex de Minaur.
