A thunderbolt on the gigantic Arthur-Ashe court where the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the tournament in 2022, was dispatched by the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (74th) 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, in the 2nd round of the US Open tennis tournament, Thursday in New York.
In his black tank top, Carlos Alcaraz seemed lost, for once, on the small blue rectangle with white lines in the heart of Arthur Ashe Stadium and its nearly 24,000 spectators who were as dissipated as ever.
A young face in world tennis, the Spaniard, already four times a Major champion at just 21 years old, had not experienced a defeat at this stage of the Grand Slam competition since July 2021, at Wimbledon, for his first year on the circuit.
Under the worried gaze of his coach Juan-Carlos Ferrero, “Carlitos” never found the solution against van de Zandschulp, who had an answer to all his variations – short game, long game, without being able to develop his usual power.
“He played very well. I expected him to ‘give’ me more free points. That bothered me. I didn’t know how to raise my level. I stayed at the same level throughout the match, it wasn’t enough to win or to give me a chance to come back,” commented the Spaniard.
In the first set, Alcaraz did not manage any winning shot. In total, he only converted two break points (out of five), miserable figures for the young Murcian, former world No. 1.
Winner of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon this year, Alcaraz pointed out that he was not invincible, and he still has some bad luck, such as his defeat in his first match in Cincinnati against the Frenchman Gaël Monfils in mid-August.
“On this tour, I’m not mentally strong enough, I didn’t know how to respond to certain problems,” he noted.
” To grow “
His defeat opens up a whole section of the table, where the Briton Jack Draper (25th), van de Zandschulp’s future opponent, is now the best ranked among the eight players who can claim a semi-final.
The Italian Jannik Sinner, on the other hand, had a stroll in his second round, swallowed up in 1h39 against the American Alex Michelsen (49th) 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.
“I had beaten him in Cincinnati (just before the US Open, editor’s note) so I knew what to expect,” he briefly commented before leaving the Arthur-Ashe court.
The world number one is moving forward and continuing to digest his busy pre-tournament news, with the revelation of his whitewashing by anti-doping after two positive tests in March, an affair which caused controversy.
“I think that the period made me grow, regardless of how things went, which could help me in the future (…). It allows me to know who my real friends are,” he said while several players denounced the opacity of the process and the feeling of a two-tier justice system.
Sinner (23), who has never made it past the quarter-finals in New York, will face Australian Christopher O’Connell (87th) on Saturday in an attempt to reach the last 16.
Russian Daniil Medvedev (world No. 5), particularly at ease at Flushing Meadows, where he has already reached the final three times (2019, successes in 2021 and 2023), dominated Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (51st) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) to join Italian Flavio Cobolli (31st).
Swiatek impitoyable
In the women’s competition, Iga Swiatek, who had fought in the first round, inflicted her first 6-0 of the tournament on Thursday on the Japanese Ena Shibahara (39th), whom she eliminated 6-0, 6-1.
“I played well, much better than in the previous match,” admitted the Polish player, crowned in New York in 2022 and who inflicted a 6-0 on an opponent for the 68th time in her career.
A major figure in world tennis and in the tournament, which she won twice (2018 and 2020), the Japanese Naomi Osaka (88th) was eliminated by the Czech Karolina Muchova (52nd) 6-3, 7-6 (7/5).
The former world No. 1 left the circuit in September 2022 to treat physical problems and her mental health, before giving birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023. Returning to competition in January, she is gradually regaining her feelings but has not yet reached a second round of a Major.
World number 4, Kazakh Elena Rybakina, has withdrawn before her match against Frenchwoman Jessika Ponchet, the last French player in the running in New York.
Ponchet, who won her first Grand Slam match on Tuesday, will face the Danish Caroline Wozniacki (71st), former world No. 1 who returned in January after a second pregnancy.
