In the city that never sleeps, a shock US Open defeat for Carlos Alcaraz provided a sport that never sleeps with yet another warning about the perils of an overpacked schedule.
That is to take nothing away from Botic van de Zandschulp, who delivered a performance of rare quality, poise and determination to consign the third seed and bookmakers’ favourite to a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 defeat at Flushing Meadows. The 28-year-old Dutchman made a mockery of the fact that he had previously failed to win two consecutive main draw matches at tour level this year.
Yet Alcaraz was a shadow of the player who arrived in New York seeking to follow Rod Laver and Rafael Nadal into the record books by becoming only the third man in the open era to win at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same calendar year. In truth, he has not resembled that player since losing the Olympic men’s singles final to Novak Djokovic. Between that defeat, which left the 21-year-old devastated, and his surprise opening-round loss to Gaël Monfils in Cincinnati less than a fortnight later, Alcaraz has lost three of his past four matches. While he rightly refused to take credit away from Van de Zandschulp, the Spaniard acknowledged that it has been a long summer.
“The tennis schedule is so tight,” said Alcaraz. “I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately with Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Olympics. I took a little break after the Olympics. I thought it was enough. It was really helpful for me. Probably it wasn’t enough.
“I came here without as much energy as I thought I was going to come with. But I don’t want to use that as an excuse. It’s so tight. I’m a player who needs more days or more of a break coming into the big tournaments and important ones. I have to think about it and learn about it.”
An uncharacteristically flat display supported that analysis. While Alcaraz looked fresh enough physically, his shot selection and inconsistency offered clear evidence of mental fatigue. The warning signs were there as early as the Spaniard’s opening service game, where he went for a spectacular tweener at 30-30 when a deep defensive lob would potentially have allowed him to reset the point. Facing a break point, Alcaraz sent a regulation backhand long, one of 27 unforced errors he would make on a night when he frequently looked lost.
A signature feature of Alcaraz’s success has been his ability to adjust tactically, to solve problems on the fly by relying on his all-court virtuosity. For once, though, the magical shot-making that so often ignites crowds and creates irresistible momentum was largely absent. Instead, it was Van de Zandschulp who dictated with his forehand; who delighted with eye-catching defensive play; who dominated at the net. Alcaraz was effectively beaten at his own game, never more so than when Van de Zandschulp pulled off a stunning half-volley winner at full stretch midway through the third set. Alcaraz lacked the clarity of mind to find a solution.
“It was a fight against myself in my mind during the match,” said the Spaniard. “In tennis, you are playing against someone that wants the same as you: to win. You have to be as calm as you can, to think better in the match and try to do good things. Today, I was playing against the opponent as well as myself in my mind. A lot of emotions I couldn’t control. I was up in some points, then I’d lose some points and get down. It was a rollercoaster in my mind. It can’t be like that if I want to think about [winning] big things. I have to improve it.”
It is tempting to wonder whether the easiest way to do so would have been to take a leaf out of Djokovic’s book by resisting the temptation to play a warm-up event so soon after the emotional maelstrom of the Olympics. The manner in which Alcaraz obliterated a racket during his loss to Monfils in Cincinnati hardly spoke of a player ready to repeat his swashbuckling US Open title run of two years ago.
This was Alcaraz’s earliest defeat at a major since 2021, when he was bundled out of Wimbledon in round two by Daniil Medvedev. Yet, while it will go down as one of the biggest upsets of recent times at Flushing Meadows, a letdown at some point in this marathon summer was probably inevitable.
Consider the evidence. After returning from a forearm injury to win the French Open for the first time in early June, Alcaraz had just eight days to recover and adjust to grass before opening his short-lived title defence at Queen’s Club. He went on to become only the sixth man in the open era to complete the “Channel double” of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but once again there was barely time to savour the achievement. Less than a fortnight later, Alcaraz was back at Roland Garros for the Olympics, where he played nine matches in nine days in singles and doubles. That left just 11 days to make the transition to hard courts in preparation for Cincinnati. It is a tribute to the efforts of his support team that he has managed to avoid injury.
While there is nothing new about the unforgiving demands of an Olympic summer, the cumulative toll of such a schedule – physically, mentally and emotionally – should not be underestimated. And while Alcaraz might be a victim of his own success, it is not only the elite who are affected by the sport’s jam-packed calendar. Mackenzie McDonald, the American world No 140, recently alluded to the difficulty of streamlining the structure of a sport with seven competing governing bodies, and the damage that the continuing failure to do so causes throughout the tennis food chain.
“The tours are not united enough to collaborate without egos and money getting involved,” McDonald told the Associated Press. “The players are absolutely getting crushed in so many ways – physically, mentally, financially. Having a normal life? We’re far from it. And then actually getting what we deserve, especially at the slams? It’s sad. I’ll put it that way.”
Iga Swiatek, the women’s world No 1, has complained that the concerns of players are going unheeded, while Holger Rune, who became another high-profile casualty when he was defeated by Brandon Nakashima in the opening round, has complained that the sport is “almost ongoing, 24/7”. When the sport’s most marketable young stars are falling so early – Rune came into the tournament carrying a knee injury that he felt unable to rest – questions need to be asked, recurring though the refrain may be.
Disillusioned by injuries and poor form, Van de Zandschulp nearly disembarked from the revolving carousel altogether after losing to Fabio Fognini in the opening round of this year’s French Open. It is not an option either man will be considering any time soon, but for Alcaraz a period of rest and recuperation seems needful.