2022 US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit from this year’s competition, falling 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 to 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. Alcaraz’s straight-sets defeat comes after the Spaniard was on a 15-match unbeaten streak in Grand Slam tournaments.
“I’m not thinking straight,” Alcaraz admitted after his defeat. “It was a fight against myself, in my mind, during the match. Today I was playing against the opponent, and I was playing against myself, in my mind. A lot of emotions that I couldn’t control.”
For Alcaraz, it was a bitter end to what had been a successful Grand Slam season for the 21-year-old player. While he lost in the quarter-final of the Australian Open, Alcaraz went on to win Roland Garros as well as Wimbledon, taking his career Grand Slam tally to four. He made it to the final of the 2024 Paris Olympic tournament, clinching the silver medal after losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.
