US Open 2024: Carlos Alcaraz is STUNNED in second round by Botic van de Zandschulp as superstar is dumped out

Carlos Alcaraz's US Open was never supposed to end like this - not this early, not with such little resistance.

But Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp wasn't privy to that script as he dumped the evidently fatigued Spanish wunderkind out in the second round on Wednesday with a dominant 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win.

Alcaraz, the winner of the French Open and Wimbledon this year, never really got going here at Arthur Ashe as his opponent stretched the court - but his own decision making was to blame at times as well, and he branded the match as a 'rollercoaster' in his mind.

'Today I was playing against the opponent, and I was playing against myself, you know, in my mind,' he said. 'I mean, a lot of emotions that I couldn't control.'

Nick Kyrgios, who's been commentating for ESPN, advised Alcaraz to curb his showmanship before the match, and perhaps he had a point.

The Spaniard at one point cupped his ear to the crowd in the third set after forcing a deuce - he was of course down two sets to one at this point, and lost the game immediately after before world no. 74 van de Zandschulp earned a shocking break to set up him for serving out the match. 

Alcaraz, who's been a virtual fixture in the late stages of Slams since his 2022 US Open win, also suggested that his busy summer schedule between Wimbledon, the Olympics and now New York had sapped him of energy - with his post-Paris break 'probably' not enough in his own words.

Whether it was low energy reserves or the mental jostling inside his own head, the Spanish superstar committed 27 unforced errors as his tournament ended far earlier than expected. 

One ill-advised drop shot which struck the net at 15-30, with the third set tied 2-2 during his service (he was subsequently broken), served as an apt symbol for his disappointing and at times puzzling night.

The result represented extremes on both sides, as it's Alcaraz's worst Slam finish since Wimbledon 2021 and the first time van de Zandschulp has won consecutive main draw matches in a tournament this year.

You'd never have known that based on the way that he dismantled Alcaraz on Wednesday, as he broke his opponent a whopping six times and never really looked troubled by the four-time Slam winner. 

van de Zandschulp made an immediate statement with a dominant first set that saw him have plenty of success at the net.

But the 6-1 score was not a wake-up call for Alcaraz - it was really just an indication of how the rest of the match would go. 

The following two sets wouldn't be quite as easy for the Dutchman, but they'd ultimately end the same way. With the second set tied 5-5 and Alcaraz trying to chip away at his opponents' advantage, he missed the chance to at least ensure a tiebreak when he double-faulted and gave a break to van de Zandschulp.

The latter needed no invitation to hold his own serve and took another set, though it still felt - maybe faintly - that we could be in for a classic five-set comeback at Ashe.

That was not to be and reality truly set in for Alcaraz - and the adoring crowd - when van de Zandschulp grabbed a 5-4 advantage after yet another break. And there was no comeback from there. 

'What can I say? I didn't feel well hitting the ball,' he said afterwards. 'I think I made a lot of mistakes.

Alcaraz - still the winner of two Slams this year - will now have some time to reflect, while van de Zandschulp will prepare for a third-round matchup vs. Briton Jack Draper on Saturday.