US Open: Botic van de Zandschulp knocks out Carlos Alcaraz
What's the story
In one of the biggest upsets, Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp beat four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz to reach the 2024 US Open third round. The former claimed a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win in the men's singles second round. Alcaraz, who was coming off two successive Grand Slam titles, suffered his first second-round major defeat since 2021. Here are the stats.
Stats
A look at match stats
Van de Zandschulp won a total of 92 points and 22 winners throughout the match. Both of them served two aces. The Dutch had a win percentage of 78 and 41 in the first and second serves, respectively. He won 30 of his 70 receiving points. Alcaraz recorded as many as 27 unforced errors, while van de Zandschulp registered seven double-faults.
Statement
'An incredible evening,' says van de Zandschulp
"I'm a little bit lost for words. It's been an incredible evening, the first night session for me on Arthur Ashe," van de Zandschulp said after the match. "I got a lot of confidence from my last match. I played really solid and from point one tonight, I believed I could have a chance and you see how it sometimes turns out."
Information
Second Dutch player with this feat
Van de Zandschulp has claimed his second top-five win. As per Opta, he has become only the second Dutch player to secure multiple such wins at the US Open after Paul Haarhuis. The former had a career win-loss record of 1-10 before this match.
Information
Van de Zandschulp snaps this streak
As per Opta, van de Zandschulp has snapped a 43-match losing streak for Dutch players against top-10 opponents at majors. Before this match, it was the longest such losing streak of a country's players at Grand Slams.
Alcaraz
Another painful defeat for Alcaraz
Although Alcaraz suffered one of his biggest defeats, he seems to have wavered since losing the 2024 Paris Olympics final. Ahead of the US Open, the Spaniard lost the R32 clash at the Cincinnati Open to Gael Monfils. He won the first set before Monfils made a comeback. Alcaraz has already won three titles this year, including two at Grand Slams.