NEW YORK — Carlos Alcaraz’s impressive streak of 15 consecutive victories in Grand Slam tournaments came to an unexpected end on Thursday night as he suffered a disappointing defeat to Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp, who is currently ranked 74th in the world. Alcaraz, the reigning champion who triumphed at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July, lost the match 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the US Open, where he was considered one of the favorites to win again following his 2022 victory.
The 21-year-old Spaniard entered the tournament with a record of 16-2 but struggled throughout the match against the 28-year-old van de Zandschulp. Despite having previously had success against this opponent, Alcaraz was far from his best performance on this occasion, making an unusually high number of errors. After committing a double fault that put him down two sets, he removed his bag from his shoulder and headed toward the locker room while glancing at his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. He gestured to his forehead as if to indicate, “I’m not thinking clearly.”
The first set was one-sided, with van de Zandschulp delivering powerful serves and forehands, while Alcaraz did not score a single winner during this time. The set concluded with a total point count of 24-13 in favor of the Dutch player. In the second set, Alcaraz made some improvements but a double fault led to a service break, giving van de Zandschulp a 6-5 lead. When Alcaraz hit a ball out the next time, van de Zandschulp easily closed out the set.
Even though Alcaraz managed to fight back in the third set, equalizing at 3-3 thanks to another double fault from van de Zandschulp, it was not enough to change the course of the match. Alcaraz continued to make errors, while van de Zandschulp maintained his focus and finished the match with confidence.
This defeat marks Alcaraz’s earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament since he was eliminated in the second round of Wimbledon in 2021 as a teenager. He has never before lost in the first round of a Grand Slam event.
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