Carlos Alcaraz suffers shock defeat in second round of US Open

CNN
 — 

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shocking defeat in the second round of the US Open on Thursday, falling to Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets.

The Dutchman, ranked 74 in the world, downed the 21-year-old Spaniard in straight sets 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York.

The world No. 3, who in the past two months has won an Olympic silver medal and took home the Wimbledon trophy, struggled out of the gate and was never able to regroup, finishing with 28 errors in total.

Van de Zandschulp closed the match with an ace to secure one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, giving him his first win over a top-10 opponent at a major in his career.

The fans gave the victor an ovation after the match, while Alcaraz congratulated him and saluted the crowd before walking off the court.

Van de Zandschulp said he was at a “loss of words” while talking on the ESPN broadcast after the match.

“It’s been an incredible evening here,” he said. “First time for me, night session at Arthur Ashe. Crowd was amazing. So thank you for that and unbelievable night.”

Van de Zandschulp added that he had some nerves while trying to close out the match.

“I think if you want to beat one of these guys, you have to be unbelievably calm and keep your head there otherwise they take so easy advantage over it.”

Alcaraz’s 15-match unbeaten streak at the US Open has come to an end, and Thursday’s second-round loss is the earliest in his career since Wimbledon in 2021.

Van de Zandschulp, who has only advanced past the fourth round in a grand slam once in his career, will face British 25th seed Jack Draper in the third round on Saturday.