Carlos Alcaraz eliminated in stunning second-round upset at U.S. Open

Carlos Alcaraz, the No. 3 men's tennis player in the world, is out in the second round of the 2024 U.S. Open after taking a stunning upset loss to No. 74 Botic van de Zandschulp in three straight sets on Thursday evening. 

van de Zandschulp took advantage of some uncharacteristically sloppy play from Alcaraz to get a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win and advance to the Round of 16. 

The loss for Alcaraz ends what had been a 15-match unbeaten streak in Grand Slam events after he won Wimbledon and the French Open earlier this season. His second-round defeat on Thursday is also his earliest defeat in a Grand Slam event since losing in the second round at Wimbledon in 2021. 

Alcaraz, who won the 2022 U.S. Open, entered this year's tournament as one of the top favorites to win — not only due to his brilliance in his other Grand Slam events this year, but also because he has always performed well at the Open. Entering Thursday, he was 16-2 in his career at the U.S. Open and had never lost before their quarterfinals. 

What makes it even more stunning is that van de Zandschulp was only 11-18 this season entering the tournament and had not won consecutive matches in any tournament that he has played in this season.

He not only beat one of the top players in the world; he absolutely dominated him right from the opening set. 

Alcaraz seemed to struggle with van de Zandschulp's serves, which topped out at over 130 mph, and was never able to get into the type of rhythm that he usually does — especially on the biggest stages. 

Alcaraz is the first top-three seed to lose within the first two rounds since the 2006 U.S. Open.