Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spanish tennis star, saw his 15-match Grand Slam unbeaten run come to an end at the U.S. Open with a loss to Botic van de Zandschulp. Despite winning the French Open and Wimbledon earlier in the year, Alcaraz struggled in his second-round match against van de Zandschulp, who played with precision and power. Alcaraz, known for his strong and consistent play, was off his game, making uncharacteristic errors and failing to find his rhythm. The match ended with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 victory for van de Zandschulp, marking Alcaraz’s earliest exit from a major tournament since Wimbledon in 2021.
The defeat left Alcaraz visibly frustrated, as he gestured to his coach and expressed his confusion over his performance. Despite a valiant effort to make a comeback in the third set, Alcaraz’s mistakes continued to cost him crucial points, allowing van de Zandschulp to secure the win. The Dutch player’s powerful forehands and serves proved too much for Alcaraz to handle, as he struggled to keep up with his opponent’s aggressive style of play.
Ultimately, Alcaraz’s loss at the U.S. Open was a disappointing end to his impressive Grand Slam winning streak. While he will undoubtedly learn from this defeat and come back stronger in future tournaments, it was clear that van de Zandschulp’s performance on the court that day was too much for the young Spanish player to overcome.
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