NEW YORK:
Former champions Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka were knocked out of the US Open on Thursday as the final Grand Slam of the year lost two of the world’s biggest players.
Alcaraz, the world number three and 2022 champion in New York, was stunned by Dutch world number 74 Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
Osaka, who counts the 2018 and 2020 US Opens among her four career titles, lost 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to 52nd-ranked Czech Karolina Mutsova.
Alcaraz had reached at least the quarterfinals in his three previous appearances in New York. Thursday’s loss was his first at a Grand Slam since his second-round exit at Wimbledon in 2021.
The loss ended his dream of becoming only the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season.
“The tennis schedule is so tight. I’ve played a lot of matches lately with Roland Garros, with Wimbledon, the Olympics,” said Alcaraz, who lost an Olympic final to Novak Djokovic in Paris just three weeks ago .
“I took a little break after the Olympics. It probably wasn’t enough. I probably came here with not as much energy as I thought I would. But I don’t want to use that as an excuse.”
Van de Zandschulp said he was at a loss for words after his second career win over a top player.
“It was an incredible night out here my first time at the night session at Arthur Ashe,” he said.
“I tried to stay calm. You’ve got to keep your head against these guys or they’ll take advantage.”
He was broken twice in the opening set to stake his claim in front of a shell-shocked crowd.
He broke for good in sets two and three, allowing Alcaraz to fight back before surrendering his hard-earned power.
His fate was sealed when he committed his 27th and final unforced error of the night as van de Zandschulp pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent Grand Slam history.
The Dutchman, who had lost his previous two matches against Alcaraz, will next face 25th seed Jack Draper.
For Osaka, her return from maternity leave remains in the final stretch.
She missed last year’s tournament after giving birth to daughter Shai, but made up for that absence in the first round when she dismissed Jelena Ostapenko for a first top 10 win in four years.
However, the 26-year-old lost in straight sets to 2023 semi-finalist Muchova on Thursday, leaving her without a third-round appearance at a major since the 2022 Australian Open.
Osaka scored three set points in the second set before a blistering forehand gave her Czech opponent victory.
Muchova will meet Russia’s Anastasia Potapova for a place in the last 16.
Alcaraz’s loss removed a major title hurdle from the path of top seed Jannik Sinner, who had been scheduled to meet the Spaniard in the semifinals.
World number one Sinner won his 50th match of the year when he defeated 49th-ranked Alex Michelsen of America 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 to reach the last 32 for the fourth consecutive year.
The 23-year-old Italian unleashed 28 winners and broke eight times. He will face Australian Christopher O’Connell for a place in the ’16’.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek is into the third round, beating 217th-ranked Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-0, 6-1 to record her 55th match win of 2024.
Poland’s Swiatek, the 2022 US Open winner seeking to add a second New York title to her four French Open triumphs, crushed the 26-year-old qualifier, who was in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. in just 65 minutes.
She goes on to face 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who was a quarter-finalist in New York 13 years ago.
Swiatek then saw potential semi-final opponent Elena Rybakina withdraw from the tournament ahead of her second round clash with French 143rd seed Jessika Ponchet.
Rybakina released a statement saying she was forced to withdraw “due to my injuries”.
Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 runner-up, suffered a left ankle injury and was forced to withdraw from her match against fifth-seeded Jasmine Paolini after just three points. Fourth seed and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev defeated Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in straight sets.
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