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Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp pulled off an upset for the ages, beating US Open title-favorite Carlos Alcaraz in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night (August 29). The defeat brought an end to Alcaraz’s incredible 15-match winning streak at Grand Slams.
Alcaraz survived a scare in his opening match at the 2024 US Open with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against Australian qualifier Li Tu on Tuesday. The Spaniard, however, did not enjoy the same fortune in his second-round match.
Carlos Alcaraz, who looked out of sorts throughout the match, was allowed just one game in the opening set (6-1). The second set was much more competitive, as he scored five games but failed to clinch the set (7-5). The World No. 3 was ultimately unable to bounce back from a two-set deficit against No. 74-ranked van de Zandschulp and waved goodbye to the Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 scoreline in favor of the Dutchman.
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With the loss, Alcaraz made his earliest exit at a Grand Slam since the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the second round on his tournament debut. The Spaniard, who won his first-ever Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2022, was defending his semifinal finish from last year and chasing his fifth Grand Slam title.
The result came as a surprise to the tennis world, given Carlos Alcaraz had won the most recent two Majors—the 2024 French Open and Wimbledon. The 21-year-old seemed primed for glory in New York, considering his draw had fallen apart after the exits of Sebastian Korda (16th seed) and Hubert Hurkacz (sevent seed).
With the US Open exit, Carlos Alcaraz has won just one match since Paris Olympics 2024
Carlos Alcaraz has witnessed a sharp decline in his results since the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Spaniard, who entered the Roland-Garros event as the massive favorite thanks to his French Open and Wimbledon success, put up a solid performance at the event.
He was, however, denied the gold medal by Novak Djokovic in the final. The Serb avenged his Wimbledon final straight-sets loss by beating the four-time Grand Slam champion 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2). Notably, he did not lose a single set during the campaign.
Alcaraz has since played only three matches, with his solitary win coming in the opening round of the US Open. He resumed his campaign at the 2024 Cincinnati Open. However, an inspired performance by 37-year-old Gael Monfils saw Alcaraz crash out of his opening match with a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 scoreline in Monfils’ favor.
The Spaniard’s next appearance is expected to be at Roger Federer’s brainchild event, the Laver Cup (September 20-22). He will represent Team Europe in Berlin.
