Spanish rising star Carlos Alcaraz is unexpectedly slowed down in his pursuit of the top of the world rankings. He loses to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who recently lost to an unknown Swiss player at the Challenger tournament in Zug.
That was a real eye-catcher: Carlos Alcaraz lost in the second round of the US Open.
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The US Open began like most recent Grand Slam tennis tournaments: the favorites won, the Swiss lost. The Swiss trio (Stan Wawrinka, Viktorija Golubic, Dominic Stricker) were eliminated after the first round.
The first unexpected news from New York came on Friday night: Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish shooting star, had to say goodbye after the second round. The 2022 US Open winner lost to the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in three straight sets (1:6, 5:7, 4:6). Alcaraz had previously won 15 matches in a row at major tournaments, which earned him the titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Van de Zandschulp, number 74 in the world rankings, surprised the favorite by consistently looking for the offensive right from the start.
Alcaraz’s failure opens up another chance for Djokovic
For Van de Zandschulp, the victory over the world number three is the greatest success of his career. In an on-court interview after the match, he said: “I’m at a loss for words at the moment. For me, it was an incredible evening. It was the first time I played in a night session and the crowd was fantastic.” At just 28 years old, he is anything but a newcomer to the tour. He is coached by Sven Groeneveld, one of the most established coaches on the scene and who, on behalf of Swiss Tennis, once accompanied the young Roger Federer for a few months on his way to the top.
The mark that Van de Zandschulp has left on the ATP tour so far has been limited. He was once number 22 in the rankings, but he has not yet won a title. A few weeks ago he lost in the first round of the Challenger tournament in Zug to the Swiss Mika Brunold (ATP 453). In New York, Van de Zandschulp had already impressed with his first round victory against Denis Shapovalov. This success gave him a lot of self-confidence, said the Dutchman.
Carlos Alcaraz failed in the second round of a major tournament for the first time since the 2022 Wimbledon tournament. Since then, he has won four Grand Slam titles. On Thursday, however, he played with unusual errors. He made 27 so-called unforced errors, twelve of them with his forehand, which is actually his great strength. He did not manage a single winner in the first set. The match was lost after just 2:19 hours.
Van de Zandschulp’s next opponent is 22-year-old Briton Jack Draper, number 25 in the rankings. Alcaraz, on the other hand, suffered a setback in his attempt to return to the top of the world rankings. Nevertheless, his season has been excellent. He has won 39 of 48 matches and also won the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. At the Olympic Games in Paris, Alcaraz won silver after losing in the final to Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz’s failure in New York now opens up another opportunity for Djokovic. The Serb, now 37 years old, is one step closer to his next big goal, his 25th major title and sole Grand Slam record. He will play his third match in New York on Saturday night against the Australian Alexei Popyrin (ATP 28).
Will Sinners hold their nerve?
Much of the US Open is leading up to a clash between Djokovic and the Italian Jannik Sinner. But the world number one from South Tyrol has often struggled with his nerves in New York. Sinner had a particularly hard time in the first round against the American Mackenzie McDonald (ATP 140). At least he improved in the second match against Alex Michelsen (ATP 49) and only needed about a hundred minutes for his three-set victory.
The question that Sinner is asking himself is: will he keep his nerve? His doping case, which became public last week, is clearly still bothering him. Sinner tested positive for the steroid clostebol twice in the spring. But an independent court acquitted him of any guilt. The banned substance is said to have entered his bloodstream via the hands of his physiotherapist. The therapist is said to have ingested the substance while treating a cut on one of his fingers.
The reasoning was met with some scepticism in the tennis scene and among Sinner’s competitors. Is this protecting a player who is too important to be sanctioned?
Novak Djokovic chose surprisingly frank words at his press conference before the start of the US Open. He said: “I understand the anger of his competitors. Some people wonder whether the same standards are being applied to everyone. There are players who are in a similar situation. The outcome of such proceedings should not depend on whether you have enough money to be able to afford good legal advice.”
What Novak Djokovic says about Jannik Sinner’s doping case.
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Djokovic spoke not only as a competitor of Sinner, but also in his capacity as president of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), a rival organization to the ATP, which he founded with Canadian Vasek Pospisil in 2019. The PTPA is committed to protecting less privileged players.
The doping case is clearly weighing heavily on Sinner. Before the start of the US Open, he made changes to his long-standing support team. Alcaraz’s defeat has temporarily taken his attention off his mind. But the matter is unlikely to be over for him.
