In a stunning result on Thursday in the second round of the 2024 United States Open, Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands has beaten world number three and four-time grand slam champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. In straight sets, van de Zandschulp won in straight sets 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. Alcaraz is a two-time grand slam champion in 2024 as he won the French Open and Wimbledon.
It is amazing that van de Zandschulp, who is 74th in the world, beat Alcaraz so easily in the first set. The most fascinating statistic in the match was the fact that Alcaraz has zero first set winners and was completely off his game in the early going. Van de Zandschulp also broke Alcaraz six times in nine opportunities.
This is the seventh time in van de Zandschulp’s career that he has beaten a player ranked in the top 10. He has also beaten Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of St. Petersburg in 2021, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 in the second round of Indian Wells in 2022, Casper Ruud of Norway 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Bavarian International Tennis Championship in Munich in 2022, Cameron Norrie of Great Britain 6-4, 6-2 in the group stage of the 2022 Davis Cup, Ruud again in the third round of Miami in 2023, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, and Taylor Fritz of the United States 6-4, 7-6 in the second round of the Bavarian International Tennis Championship in Munich in 2023. This is the first time that van de Zandschulp has beaten a top 10 player at a major.
Next up for van de Zandschulp in round three is another seeded player, Jack Draper of Great Britain, the 25th seed. This is their first ever meeting head to head.
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