Botic van de Zanschulp of the Netherlands had a dream day after he handed World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz a shock exit from the US Open 2024. Alcaraz, who was one of the strongest contenders to lift the men’s singles title, could not go beyond the second round. It also happened to be his earliest exit in Grand Slams since Wimbledon 2021, when Daniil Medvedev beat him in straight sets.
On Thursday, it took Van de Zanschulp an hour and 19 minutes to beat the 21-year-old Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Before their clash in the hard-court major, the Dutchman was 0-2 down against the Spaniard on the head-to-head count. In fact, he had not won a single set, going down in straight sets both times. Quite naturally, van de Zanschulp was “lost for words”.
“Actually, I’m a little lost for words. It’s been an incredible evening. First time for me having a night session on Arthur Ashe. The crowd was amazing. Thank you for that. Unbelievable night,” van de Zanschulp said after the match.
“I got a lot of confidence from the last match. I played really solid the last match. From point 1 I believed I could have a chance. You see how it sometimes turns out,” Van de Zanschulp added.
2021 was the year when Van de Zanschulp started taking baby steps after he qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in the Australian Open. In the same year, he reached the quarters of the US Open where he took a set off Medvedev, although he lost the match 3-6, 0-6, 6-4, 5-7 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
In 2022, van de Zanschulp reached the third rounds of the Australian Open and French Open, where he lost to Medvedev and Rafael Nadal respectively. It goes without saying that the win against Alcaraz was his biggest thus far in his Grand Slam career.
In 2022 itself, van de Zanschulp achieved his career-best ranking of No.22 in the world. He has also played doubles in all four Grand Slams and won the European Open 2022 in Antwerp along with his countryman Tallon Griekspoor.
