”Worst level I have seen Carlos Alcaraz play”; “Olympics broke him” - Fans stunned as Spaniard falls to Botic van de Zandschulp in US Open 2R

Carlos Alcaraz falling to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the 2024 US Open has sent shockwaves throughout the tennis fraternity. The Spaniard was defeated 1-6, 5-7, 4-6 by the Dutchman in two hours and 19 minutes. This is his worst Grand Slam performance since losing at the very same stage in Wimbledon 2021.

Alcaraz has had an impressive 2024 so far, having won the French Open, Wimbledon and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The 21-year-old also won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics following which, he faced an early exit at the Cincinnati Masters, the only event he played at the North American hard-court swing ahead of the US Open..

Seeded third, Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his campaign at the New York Major by beating Australia's Li Tu in four sets. However, his run was shockingly ended by World No. 74 Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets in the second round itself.

Fans took to Reddit to react to this huge upset. One fan felt that this was the worst level the Spaniard had displayed so far in his career.

"That is by far the worst level I have seen Carlos play maybe ever. Carlitos nation I am le sad," the fan commented.

Another fan felt that the Paris Olympics loss to Novak Djokovic was similar to his defeat at the 2023 Cincinnati Open final, after which, Carlos Alcaraz was in poor form for a while.

"The Gold Medal Match was the Cincinnati Final of 2023. Broke Alcaraz mentally a little bit. He’ll be back soon enough, just like he did in Indian Wells, Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year. Botic reminded us why he made QF in US Open 2021," the fan opined.

Here are some fan reactions to Carlos Alcaraz's shock second-round exit at Flushing Meadows.

"*Quietly removing alcaraz from flair* kidding but yeah that was hard to watch. I also didn't like how upset JCF looked the whole time...like even out the gate basically. Alcaraz had moments of his normal self but yikes that hurt," a fan said.

"The ashe night crowd who bought tix tonight to watch Alcaraz and Osaka win and then they played like this lol the silence was so loud," a fan joked.

"The defending French Open and Wimbledon champion got ousted to the 74th-ranked player in the world, in straight sets. What the actual f**k," a fan stated.

Here are some other fan reactions, a few marveling at Van de Zandschulp.

"VDZ doesn’t even look that excited lol, cool as a cucumber all match," a fan opined.

"Carlos has a new 'worst match he’s ever played',” a fan quipped.

"11-18 coming into the US Open, all while expressing thoughts about retiring due to his inability to get good results… WHAT A TURNAROUND. Congrats Botic!" a fan marveled.

The US Open is the only Grand Slam this year where Carlos Alcaraz failed to reach the quarterfinals or further. Apart from his wins at the French Open and Wimbledon, the Spaniard reached the last eight of the Australian Open.

"I think if you want to beat one of these guys, you have to be unbelievable calm" - Botic van de Zandschulp on how he closed out the match against Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz (Image Source: Getty)

During his post-match interview at the US Open, Botic van de Zandschulp said that being aggressive and keeping his composure while closing out the match helped him clinch victory over a player of Carlos Alcaraz's caliber.

"Defending well, I saw some of the stats, I won unbelievable amount of points at the net, so I think my coach want me to be a little more aggressive, so I think I did really well today," the Dutchman said.

"Of course I had some nerves, but I think if you want to beat one of these guys, you have to be unbelievable calm and keep your head there, otherwise they take so easy advantage of it," he added.

Van de Zandschulp registered his very first win over Carlos Alcaraz, having previously lost to him at the 2021 Australian Open and the 2022 Swiss Indoors in Basel. The Dutchman will next take on 25th seed Jack Draper in the third round of the 2024 US Open. The Brit booked his place in the Round of 32 of the New York Major for the third year in a row after ousting Facundo Diaz Acosta.

Van de Zandschulp and Draper will lock horns for the very first time and whoever out of the two wins, will take on either David Goffin or Tomas Machac in the fourth round of US Open 2024.