Carlos Alcaraz left "confused" after being knocked out of US Open 2024 in 2R: "I don't know what to say right now"

Carlos Alcaraz was seemingly unable to make sense of his opponent, Botic van de Zandschulp’s level, after being knocked out of the 2024 US Open. The Spaniard suffered a shocking straight-sets defeat in the second round on Thursday, August 29.

Alcaraz was one of the top favorites to lift the trophy in New York this fortnight, alongside World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic. However, the Spaniard kicked off his campaign in suboptimal fashion, eking out a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against Australia qualifier Li Tu.

"He surprised me a little bit," Carlos Alcaraz said during his on-court interview after that match.

While the 21-year-old was eager to improve his level in the coming rounds, his run came to an abrupt halt after an inspired Botic van de Zandschulp handed him a shocking 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 upset. Van de Zandschulp and Alcaraz had near identical stats when it came to winners (22-21), unforced errors (21-27), and aces (2-2).

Interestingly, while Alcaraz limited his double fault count to one, his opponent leaked seven. The Dutchman, however, proved clutch in the decisive moments. He played a brilliant net game, winning 28 out of 35 points, and produced a better first-serve win percentage.

Reflecting on his surprising exit, Carlos Alcaraz said in his press conference:

"I don't know what to say right now."

"First of all, he played great. He played really good tennis,” he continued.

The Spaniard confessed that he was expecting van de Zandschulp to play a few loose points but was left confused by his opponent’s precision.

"I thought he was going to give me more points – more free points. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes that I thought he was going to do. So it was confusing a bit," he said.

Alcaraz added that, according to him, he was unsuccessful in raising his level after being challenged by the Dutchman.

"I didn’t know how to manage that or how to deal with it. I couldn’t increase my level."

"I think my level stayed at the same point the whole match. It wasn’t enough to win the match or to give myself the chance to get into the match or try to give myself chances," the 2022 US Open champion added. "So what can I say? I didn’t feel well hitting the ball. I made a lot of mistakes. When I wanted to come back it was too late."

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Carlos Alcaraz on his US Open 2024 upset: "It was a fight against myself"

Carlos Alcaraz pictured at the 2024 US Open - Image Source: Getty

Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t found success since his Paris Olympics final loss to Novak Djokovic.

Before his first-round win at the US Open, he played one other match—a loss to veteran Gael Monfils in his opening fixture at the Cincinnati Open. It should be noted that the Spaniard was defending a staggering 600 points at the event, thanks to his runner-up finish last year.

Laying bare his mental state during the US Open loss, Carlos Alcaraz said:

"It was a fight against myself, you know, in my mind during the match. In tennis, you’re playing against someone that wants the same as you – it’s to win the match. You have to be as much calm as you can," he said in the aforementioned press conference.

"Today I was playing against the opponent and I was playing against myself, in my mind. Lots of emotions that I couldn’t control. It was a rollercoaster in my mind. It can’t be like that if I want to think about big things. So I have to improve it; I have to learn about it," the four-time Grand Slam champion added.

Regardless of his US Open defeat, Alcaraz has a lot to celebrate when it comes to his 2024 Grand Slam season. He reached his first Australian Open quarterfinal earlier this year. He then staged a phenomenal run in Paris to clinch his first French Open title. The 21-year-old then repeated his Wimbledon success to become the youngest man to complete the Channel Slam.