"I came here with not as much energy" - Carlos Alcaraz points fingers at very 'tight' tennis schedule after unexpected US Open 2R loss

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock defeat to Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the 2024 US Open on Thursday (August 29). During his post-match press conference, the Spaniard claimed that the ATP Tour calendar was so tightly packed that he didn't have enough energy to go deep at Flushing Meadows.

Alcaraz started his second-round encounter against van de Zandschulp in less than stellar fashion, dropping three of his first four service games to trail 1-6, 1-2. Although the Spaniard broke back in the second set, it wasn't enough as he lost the set and eventually the match 1-6, 5-7, 4-6.

Speaking to the media afterwards, Carlos Alcaraz spoke briefly about the impact of a tight schedule on his form in New York. The Spaniard maintained that he had played far too many matches in 2024, which likely contributed to him not having enough in the tank to turn the tides around against his lower-ranked opponent.

The third seed had completed the elusive Channel Slam (winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back) and secured a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. The above run, however, didn't allow him to take days off to recuperate physically by his own admission.

"Yeah, I mean, tennis calendar is so tight. I've been playing a lot of matches lately. With Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Olympics Games, I took a little break after Olympics Games," Carlos Alcaraz said during his press conference on Thursday (1:44). "I thought it was obviously really helpful for me, probably wasn't enough.

"But I came here with not as much energy as I needed, but I don't want to put that as an excuse. I'm a player who needs more days and more break coming into the good tournaments. So I have to think about it and I have to learn about it."

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Carlos Alcaraz has won 39 of his 48 matches on the ATP Tour so far this year

Carlos Alcaraz won his second Wimbledon title this year

While Carlos Alcaraz exited early at the 2024 US Open, the World No. 3 can take respite in the successful season he has had this year. Having accumulated a 39-9 win/loss record, he triumphed at three tournaments — the French Open, Wimbledon and the BNP Paribas Open.

Alcaraz's most dominant period came between May and July this year, where he won 20 of his 22 competitive matches. The highlights of this run included coming from a two-sets-to-one-down deficit to deny Alexander Zverev in the French Open final and defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets in their 2023 Wimbledon final rematch.

The Spaniard lost to Djokovic in the gold medal match in men's singles at the Paris Games, following which his form has dwindled. He has dropped two of his last three matches, which include second-round losses to Botic van de Zandschulp and Gael Monfils at the US Open and the Cincinnati Open, respectively.