Nick Kyrgios reacts to Carlos Alcaraz making shock early exit at US Open 2024 against Botic van de Zandschulp in R2

Nick Kyrgios was stunned by Carlos Alcaraz's early exit at the 2024 US Open. World No. 74 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands outclassed the Spaniard 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 19 minutes, ending the third seed's campaign in the second round.

Though he had a slow start to the year, Alcaraz bounced back to defend his Indian Wells and Wimbledon titles. He also won the French Open and a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, falling short to Novak Djokovic in the clash for gold.

The 21-year-old kicked off his North American hardcourt swing at the Cincinnati Masters, where he was the runner-up last year. However, he lost to Gael Monfils in the second round, meaning the Spaniard would arrive at Flushing Meadows having played a solitary match on the swing. Alcaraz had brushed off any worries concerning his lack of matches at the pre-tournament press conference, saying (via ATP Tour):

"It doesn't matter for me. Obviously I [would] have loved to have more matches on my belt on hard court before the US Open. But, I mean, it doesn't affect me at all."

The Spaniard kicked off the 2024 US Open with a four-set win against Australian qualifier Li Tu to set up a meeting with Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. The Dutchman ousted Denis Shapovalov in the opening round in straight sets.

Van de Zandschulp would recreate his heroics once again, this time, to stun Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets, sending shockwaves throughout the tennis world. Among the stunned was Nick Kyrgios, who reacted to the Spanaird's early exit on X (formerly Twitter), writing:

"Holy smokes…..."

"I don't know what to say right now" - Carlos Alcaraz at a loss for words after US Open 2024 exit

Carlos Alcaraz (Image Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz was at a loss for words during the press conference but credited Botic van de Zandschulp for playing "great." The Spaniard thought he would be getting easier points from the Dutchman but the clinical performance put up by Van de Zandschulp confused him.

"I don't know what to say right now," he said (via Sky Sports). "First of all, he played great. He played really good tennis. 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."

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

Botic van de Zandschulp will carry on his US Open run against 25th seed Jack Draper in the third round. It will be the first meeting between the two men. The winner of this match will play either David Goffin or Tomas Machac in the fourth round.