”Worst level I have seen Carlos Alcaraz play”; “Olympics broke him” – Fans stunned as Spaniard falls to Botic van de Zandschulp in US Open 2R

Carlos Alcaraz’s unexpected loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the 2024 US Open has stunned the tennis world. The Spaniard was defeated by the Dutchman 1-6, 5-7, 4-6 in a match lasting two hours and 19 minutes. This marks Alcaraz’s most disappointing Grand Slam performance since his early exit at Wimbledon in 2021, where he also fell in the second round.

Carlos Alcaraz has had a remarkable 2024, winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The 21-year-old also earned a silver medal at the Paris Olympics but suffered an early exit at the Cincinnati Masters, his only appearance in the North American hard-court swing before the US Open. Seeded third, Alcaraz began his US Open campaign with a four-set victory over Australia’s Li Tu.

However, his journey came to a surprising halt when he was defeated in straight sets by World No. 74, Botic van de Zandschulp, in the second round.

BOTIC VAN DE ZAND-STUNNER pic.twitter.com/3z1U95zJhP

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2024

Fans quickly took to Reddit to share their reactions to this major upset. One fan commented that this was the lowest level of performance they had seen from Alcaraz in his career so far.

“That is by far the worst level I have seen Carlos play maybe ever. Carlitos nation I am le sad,” the fan commented.

Another fan drew parallels between Alcaraz’s loss to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics and his defeat in the 2023 Cincinnati Open final, suggesting that both setbacks seemed to lead to a period of poor form for the young Spaniard.

“The Gold Medal Match was the Cincinnati Final of 2023. Broke Alcaraz mentally a little bit. He’ll be back soon enough, just like he did in Indian Wells, Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year. Botic reminded us why he made QF in US Open 2021,” the fan opined.

Here are some fan reactions to Carlos Alcaraz’s shock second-round exit at Flushing Meadows.

“*Quietly removing alcaraz from flair* kidding but yeah that was hard to watch. I also didn’t like how upset JCF looked the whole time…like even out the gate basically. Alcaraz had moments of his normal self but yikes that hurt,” a fan said.

“The ashe night crowd who bought tix tonight to watch Alcaraz and Osaka win and then they played like this lol the silence was so loud,” a fan joked.

“The defending French Open and Wimbledon champion got ousted to the 74th-ranked player in the world, in straight sets. What the actual f**k,” a fan stated.

Here are some other fan reactions, a few marveling at Van de Zandschulp.

“VDZ doesn’t even look that excited lol, cool as a cucumber all match,” a fan opined.

“Carlos has a new ‘worst match he’s ever played’,” a fan quipped.

“11-18 coming into the US Open, all while expressing thoughts about retiring due to his inability to get good results… WHAT A TURNAROUND. Congrats Botic!” a fan marveled.