Swept away! World number three Carlos Alcaraz is out of the US Open in the second round after his heavy defeat on Thursday 29 August against 74-year-old Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.my in the ATP ranking, in three sets: 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
Winner of the New York tournament in 2022, the Spaniard, already a four-time Major winner at 21, had not experienced a defeat at this stage of Grand Slam competition since July 2021 at Wimbledon, his first year on the circuit.
Under the worried gaze of his coach, Juan-Carlos Ferrero, “Carlitos” never found the solution on the gigantic Arthur-Ashe court, where the Dutchman had the answer to all the Spaniard’s variations, short game, long game.
Unable to unleash his usual power, Alcaraz failed to hit a single winner during the first set. In total, he only took advantage of two break points (out of five), a pitiful figure for the young man from Murcia, former world number one. Winner of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon this year, Alcaraz recalled that he is not invincible, although he still has some setbacks, such as his defeat in his first match in Cincinnati against the Frenchman Gaël Monfils in mid-August.
“I have the impression that instead of taking a step forward I have gone backwards, he declared on Thursday after his defeat. And I don’t understand why. I’m coming off a fabulous summer with victories at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, I thought I understood that to achieve great things you have to be mentally strong. But on this tour I’m not mentally strong enough, I didn’t know how to respond to certain problems. »
An open table
The elimination of Alcaraz opens up a whole section of the table, where the British Jack Draper (25my), van de Zandschulp’s future rival, is now the highest-ranked of the eight players who can aspire to a semi-final.
Italian Jannik Sinner, on the other hand, was distracted during his second round, which took 1 hour 39 minutes, against American Alex Michelsen (49).my) with a severe 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. “I beat him in Cincinnati [juste avant l’US Open] So I knew what to expect”he commented briefly before leaving the Arthur-Ashe court.
The world number one is moving on and continuing to digest his hectic pre-tournament news, with the revelation of his clean sweep by the anti-doping authorities following two positive tests in March, an issue that sparked controversy on the circuit. “I think the period made me grow, regardless of how things turned out, which can help me in the future. (…) “It lets me know who my real friends are.”he said as several players denounced the opacity of the process and the feeling of a two-tier anti-doping justice system based on the status of the players.
Sinner (23), who has never made it past the quarter-finals in New York, will face Australian Christopher O’Connell (87).my) on Saturday to try to move up to eighth place.
Fact Sheet
“Sports”
Polls, reports, analysis: sports news in your inbox every Saturday
Record
Russian Daniil Medvedev (5my), particularly comfortable in Flushing Meadows, where he has already reached the final three times (2019, success in 2021 and 2023), dominated the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (51my) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to join the Italian Flavio Cobolli (31my).
A “very poor” French evaluation
On the French side, the situation is already over after the defeats of Arthur Fils and Adrian Mannarino on Thursday. France had fourteen players in the men’s singles tournament – the second most represented country behind the United States and its seventeen players – and all of them have been eliminated in two rounds. “It is very poor and this evaluation leaves us almost speechless. It is difficult to understand, to analyze”Arthur Fils admitted.
The 20-year-old player, seeded (24my A world number one), and a great promise of French tennis, he reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in July. In New York, he saw his ambitions crushed by an almost unknown Canadian, Gabriel Diallo (143).my), winner 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4.
Diallo (22 years old), a little older than Fils, played a great match, relying on an excellent serve (12 aces, 77% of points won with his first ball), with a mobility uncommon for a player of his height (2.03 m). “I didn’t serve very well, I also made a lot of mistakes at the end of the court. I played quite slowly, I was pushed around a bit.”the son explained.
In the first round, Adrian Mannarino had put an end to a ten-match losing streak this summer, but could not continue against Belgian David Goffin, with a 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1) setback.
“I didn’t really serve very well throughout the match. Against a player like that who plays very well in the rally, who lasts, lasts, lasts, I have to be able to get more free points on my serve.”said the 36-year-old veteran.
“I’m not playing at the level I’ve been able to achieve for several years, I’m a little bit behind, I’m not raising the level of French tennis, maybe it’s also a bit my fault, I’m one of those players who can’t “perform” at the moment.”said.
Swiatek merciless, Osaka eliminated
Among the women, Iga Swiatek, who had struggled in the first round, inflicted her first 6-0 of the tournament on Thursday on the Japanese Ena Shibahara (39).my), whom he eliminated mercilessly with an almost perfect score of 6-0, 6-1. “I played well, much better than in the previous match”declared the Pole, crowned in New York in 2022.
A great figure of world tennis and of the tournament, which she won twice (2018 and 2020), is the Japanese Naomi Osaka (88my) was eliminated by the Czech Karolina Muchova (52my) in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (5). The former world number one left the circuit in September 2022 to deal with physical and mental health issues before giving birth to a daughter in July 2023. Returning to competition in January, she is regaining her form but has yet to make it past a second round of the Major.
Kazakhstan’s world number 4 Elena Rybakina has withdrawn before her match against Frenchwoman Jessika Ponchet, the last tricolor in contention in New York. Ponchet, who won her first Grand Slam match on Tuesday, will face Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki (71my), the former world number one returned in January after giving birth for the second time.
