Arthur Ashe Stadium usually feels like a playground for Carlos Alcaraz. It’s where the lights are brightest and the crowd is loudest—perfect for a kid who plays tennis like he’s trying to win a prize at a carnival. But on that humid Thursday night in late August, the magic just... vanished.
Botic van de Zandschulp. That’s the name that will forever be linked to the biggest shock of the year. The Dutchman, ranked 74th in the world at the time, didn't just beat the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion. He dismantled him.
The final scoreline was 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. It wasn't a fluke. It wasn't a mid-match injury retirement. It was a straight-sets clinical execution that left the entire tennis world staring at their TV screens in total disbelief. Honestly, if you had told anyone that morning that Alcaraz would leave New York without even making the third round, they would have laughed you out of the room.
The Night the Smile Disappeared at the 2024 US Open
We’re used to seeing Alcaraz grin after hitting a ridiculous cross-court forehand or a cheeky drop shot. He’s the "energy guy." But against Van de Zandschulp, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Maybe on a beach in Murcia. Maybe sleeping for a week straight.
What happened?
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The stats tell a grizzly story. In that first set, Alcaraz hit exactly zero winners. Read that again. Zero. For a guy who treats the baseline like a launchpad for guided missiles, that’s almost statistically impossible. He was erratic, mistiming balls by inches, and looking genuinely confused by a Dutchman who refused to miss. Van de Zandschulp played the match of his life, sure, but Alcaraz was fighting a ghost.
He later admitted he was "playing against himself" in his own head. It was a mental collapse more than a physical one. You could see it in the way he slumped between points. The usual spark was replaced by a hollow sort of bewilderment.
Was Burnout the Real Opponent?
Looking back, the signs were actually there. 2024 was an absolute gauntlet for the young Spaniard.
Think about his summer:
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- The French Open: A grueling, emotional run to his first title in Paris.
- Wimbledon: Defending his crown against Novak Djokovic in a high-pressure final.
- The Olympics: Flying to Paris again, switching back to clay, and losing a heartbreaker of a gold medal match to Djokovic.
- Cincinnati: That weird, uncharacteristic racquet-smashing loss to Gael Monfils.
By the time he got to the 2024 US Open, the tank was bone dry. He even said it afterward: "I took a little break after the Olympic Games... I thought it was enough. Probably it wasn't."
The transition from clay to grass, back to clay, and then onto the North American hard courts is a nightmare for the body and the mind. Even for a 21-year-old who seems like he has infinite batteries, there’s a limit. Alcaraz found his limit on the blue courts of Flushing Meadows. He looked mentally fried, unable to find that "fifth gear" he usually uses to blow opponents away.
Managing the Expectations
We often forget he’s still a kid. I mean, a kid with four Grand Slams, but still. The pressure to win the "Channel Slam" (French Open and Wimbledon) and then back it up with a US Open title is something only the legends—the Nadals and Federers—have truly mastered.
When you're the face of the sport, you don't get "off" days. Every Round 2 match is a potential headline if you don't win 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. That weight started to show. He wasn't just playing Van de Zandschulp; he was playing against the version of himself that everyone expects to see every single time he steps on the court.
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The Tactical Nightmare
Van de Zandschulp deserves a massive amount of credit here. He didn't play "scared" tennis. He saw Alcaraz struggling and stepped on his throat. He attacked the net constantly, winning 28 out of 35 net points. He used deep, slicing angles that forced Alcaraz to create his own pace—something the Spaniard couldn't do that night.
It was a masterclass in exploiting a tired favorite. Botic was calm. Alcaraz was a "rollercoaster," as he put it.
Lessons from the New York Upset
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Alcaraz is a sponge. He learns. He realized that his scheduling needs to change if he wants to avoid these mid-tournament craters. You can't play every single event at 100% intensity and expect the body to hold up for seven matches in New York.
He’s already started making tweaks. We saw a more calculated Alcaraz in late 2024 and heading into 2025—someone who knows when to pull back and when to go all-in. The loss was a "step back" mentally, as he said, but sometimes you have to move backward to see the path forward clearly.
Actionable Insights for Following Alcaraz's Future Runs:
- Watch the Schedule: Look at how many tournaments he plays in the four weeks leading up to a Slam. If he's playing deep into every 1000-level event, watch for fatigue in the early rounds of the Major.
- Monitor the Body Language: The "smile" isn't just for show. When Alcaraz stops smiling and starts looking at his box with a blank stare, his level usually drops by 20%.
- First Set Winners: Check the live stats. If he's under five winners in the first set, he’s likely struggling with his timing and is vulnerable to an upset.
- The "Post-Olympic" Effect: In future Olympic years, be wary of the top players who went deep in the medal rounds; the emotional letdown is real.
Carlos Alcaraz 2024 US Open was a reality check. It reminded us that even the most "superhuman" athletes are remarkably human. He'll be back on that trophy stage soon enough, but he’ll probably have a lot more respect for the rest days along the way.