US Open: Van de Zandschulp beats Alcaraz in all categories | Tennis

August 31, 2024 Catherine Williams - Chief Editor Sports

A few months ago, Botich van de Zanschulf was considering retiring from the professional circuit. Ranked 22nd in 2022, the Dutch tennis player was not performing as well as he wanted and dropped out of the top 100 in May. After losing the opening round of Roland Garros, he spent a few weeks reflecting, and in July he had no trouble dropping down a “division”, and regained his confidence after reaching two finals on the Challenger Tour. Van de Zanschulf looked rejuvenated at the US Open, where he was ranked 74th in the world, and faced Carlos Alcaraz in the second round. And the 28-year-old Dutchman, who had never played a night session at the magnificent Arthur Ashe Stadium, won his first victory against a top-10 player away from the world’s biggest court.

Van der Zandtschulp surprised everyone by coming out very aggressively, winning 78% of the points contested on his first serve and 80% of the 35 points decided at the net, eliminating the No. 3 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. “He is very aggressive and often tries to come forward. That’s when I tried to counter him and got to the net a lot to prevent him from doing that. Of course I was a little bit nervous, but to beat one of these guys you have to be incredibly calm and focused, otherwise they will take advantage right away,” revealed the tennis player, who was coached by Paul Harhuis, a former world number one in doubles and 18th in singles.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, was not in the best of spirits when he arrived in New York. The Spaniard had been a huge favorite, having won Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but he was left in tears when Novak Djokovic denied him gold at the Paris Olympics. Alcaraz returned to competition in Canada, where he suffered a rare setback when he broke his racket in a loss to Gael Monfils, who, like Djokovic, was 37. He did not compete again until the US Open, where he won his debut but could not find the means to face Van de Zandtschulp, an opponent he had beaten in his previous two matches.

“First of all, he was incredibly good and didn’t make as many mistakes as I thought he would, so I was a little confused. I didn’t know how to handle it and I couldn’t raise my level. I faced my opponent and myself during the game. There were a lot of emotions that I could control.”

“I took a break after the Olympics and thought I had enough, but maybe not. Maybe I didn’t have as much energy as I wanted, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse,” said the winner of four Grand Slam titles, including the 2022 US Open.

Alcaraz’s elimination means there will be a tennis player making his Grand Slam semifinal debut, with 2021 champion and 2019 and 2023 finalist Daniil Medvedev as the favourite. The Russian didn’t play to his best, but he outlasted Hungary’s Fabian Marozan (51st) to win 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5). “It was like being in an Italian restaurant. The food was great, it was tasty, but my head was full. It was so humid that I thought the whole match, ‘I’m trying to concentrate, I’m trying to concentrate.’ It was a great feeling,” said the Russian, who is one of three active players with the highest winning percentage at majors played on hard courts. At 80.5%, he’s second only to Novak Djokovic (89.3%) and Alcaraz (82.8%).

Meanwhile, Nuno Borges’ opponent was announced on Saturday: No. 65 Jakub Mensik, the first teenager to win a match at the US Open after losing the first two sets since Michael Chang in 1988. The Czech, who turns 19 on Sunday, recovered from breaks in the fourth and fifth sets and saved two match points in the fourth game to defeat Australia’s No. 193 Tristan Schoolkate 6-7 (4/7), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (10/3) in four hours and 14 minutes. Mensik will once again be looking to solidify his place in the third round of the 2023 US Open when he begins his impressive climb up the rankings. A year ago, he was ranked No. 206.

In the women’s competition, Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova (52nd) once again proved she is one of the most talented tennis players of the moment, defeating 208m and 200m champion Naomi Osaka (88th) 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). After recovering from surgery on her right wrist and only starting her season in June, Muchova will be looking to re-establish herself as a semifinalist in 2023.