Van de Zandschulp shocks Alcaraz at US Open after contemplating retirement

Botic van de Zandschulp, who stunned world number three Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open on Thursday, was contemplating retirement less than three months ago.

Tired of playing through pain from a nagging injury, and demoralised by early defeats after his ranking fell and he found himself unseeded at tournaments, he opted to play a couple of lower level Challenger events to build his confidence back up.

“The tour is tough,” Van de Zandschulp, ranked 74th, said. “You can play well but you can (still) only play two matches a week if you play well. If you’re not seeded in a tournament you can face (Jannik) Sinner first round.

“You can play well but still in the end you will lose a lot of matches.

“I needed more confidence after Wimbledon. I played a couple of Challengers in Europe. I think that gave my confidence a boost.”

Happy to play more, win more

Van de Zandschulp said it wasn’t a difficult decision to play the Challengers.

“I think I already had the tough part behind me, dropping from 25 to 70, not being seeded. I was just happy to play more matches, to win more matches.”

He seized control early against Alcaraz, but admitted he was waiting throughout the match for the Spanish star to raise his game.

“You think he’s one of the best players in the world, he’s going to come up with a next level,” Van de Zandschulp said.

“Even in the third you’re thinking he’s going to come up with something special, and I broke him again pretty quick.”

Knowing Alcaraz’s aggressive style, Van de Zandschulp said he tried to “beat him to the punch”.

“I tried to come into the net so he wasn’t able to,” said the Dutch player, who was still getting to grips with his achievement an hour after the match ended.

“I’m still processing it,” he said. “Maybe in a couple of hours or tomorrow I’ll feel a little bit more emotional with what happened tonight.”

‘Couldn’t increase level’

Alcaraz admitted that Van de Zandschulp surprised him with his level of play in the 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 victory.

“He didn’t make a lot of mistakes that I thought he was going to do,” Alcaraz said. “So I was, you know, confusing a little bit. I didn’t know how to manage that, how to deal with it.

“I couldn’t increase my level. 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.”

Alcaraz added: “Today I was playing against the opponent, and I was playing against myself, you know, in my mind. I mean, a lot of emotions that I couldn’t control.

“I was up in some points. Then I lose some points. I get down. It was a rollercoaster, let’s say, in my mind,” said the world number three, who was trying to become just the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year.