Botic’s big night: Dutchman stuns Alcaraz at US Open

Botic van de Zandschulp scored one of the biggest upsets in recent memory Thursday when he stunned 2022 champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the US Open second round, spoiling the Spaniard’s hopes of a third consecutive major title.

The World No. 74 in the PIF ATP Rankings struck the ball with conviction and looked for early opportunities to move forward and disrupt the Spaniard’s usual baseline rhythm. By defeating the World No. 3, the Dutchman earned the highest-ranked win of his career.

"I'm a little bit lost for words. It's been an incredible evening, the first night session for me on Arthur Ashe. The crowd was amazing," van de Zandschulp said.

"I got a lot of confidence from my last match [against Denis Shapovalov]. I played really solid and from point one tonight, I believed I could have a chance and you see how it sometimes turns out."

Alcaraz suffered his first loss in the second round of a major since 2021 at Wimbledon, where the then-World No. 75 fell to second seed Daniil Medvedev. The 15-time tour-level titlist committed 27 unforced errors, 12 of which came on his forehand, several missing by a great distance.

Van de Zandschulp came flying out of the blocks and rarely looked back. He skillfully absorbed the heavy hitting of Alcaraz, who did not hit a winner throughout the first set.

"I was defending well and I think I saw some of the stats: I won an unbelievable amount of points at the net," said van de Zandschulp, who converted 28 of his 35 net points. "My coach wanted me to be a little more aggressive and I think I did it really well today."

While the four-time major champion struggled to find a successful ‘plan B’ when he was unable to overpower van de Zandschulp, it was the 28-year-old who refused to give Alcaraz free points on return. Van de Zandschulp, who won 43 per cent of his return points, earned a decisive break at 5-5 in the second set and served out the set to love.

The tension rose inside Arthur Ashe Stadium when van de Zandschulp let slip a break lead in the third set at 3-2, during which he double faulted down break point. Alcaraz then asked for support from the crowd and flashed several large smiles in the heat of battle, as if to say he was enjoying the late-night fight.

But the 2021 quarter-finalist, who reached the last eight that year as a qualifier, remained levelheaded. Van de Zandschulp rose to the occasion, earning a crucial break at 4-4 in the third set and serving out the two-hour, 19-minute match to love.

"Of course I had some nerves. But if you want to beat one of these guys you have to be unbelievably calm and keep your head there, otherwise they will take advantage," said van de Zandschulp, who won 78 per cent of his first-serve points, compared to Alcaraz's 60 per cent.

Van de Zandschulp improved to 1-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Alcaraz. He will next play 25th seed Jack Draper in the third round Saturday. 

Last week, van de Zandschulp lost in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open, his first hard-court tournament since Miami in March. The former World No. 22's most recent tour-level win before New York came on the Gstaad clay in mid-July. He entered Thursday's match with a 6-10 season record on hard courts.

Alcaraz leaves the season’s final major with a 39-9 match record this year. The 21-year-old has won three titles in 2024: Indian Wells, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He also claimed the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Alcaraz has now lost three of his past four matches.

STATEMENT MADE ?@Boticvdz stuns Alcaraz to advance in the Big Apple ?@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/p17tGKtg0s

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