But Alcaraz never recovered from a shaky start and made a number of unforced errors throughout the contest as Van de Zandschulp ended the Spaniard’s hopes with the result of his life.
It was Alcaraz’s first loss in the second round of a major since 2021 at Wimbledon, where the then-world No 75 fell to second seed Daniil Medvedev.
Third seed Carlos Alcaraz suffered a seismic second-round exit at the US Open with a thumping defeat by unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
Alcaraz was bidding to become the third man in history after Rod Laver and Rafael Nadal to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same calendar year in the Open era.
But the Spaniard never recovered from a shaky start against world number 74 Van de Zandschulp, who triumphed 6-1 7-5 6-4 for the highest-ranked win of his career.
The defeat ends Alcaraz’s 15-match winning run at Grand Slams.
“I think my level stayed at the same point all the match, and it wasn’t enough to win the match or to give myself the chance to get into the match or try to give myself chances,” said Alcaraz.
“I didn’t feel well hitting the ball. I think I made a lot of mistakes. When I wanted to come back or I think I wanted to come back, it was too late.”
The 21-year-old made 27 unforced errors throughout the match while Van de Zandchulp made 21.
“He didn’t make a lot of mistakes that I thought he was going to do so I was confused a little bit,” Alcaraz said. “I didn’t know how to manage that.”
