US Open: Carlos Alcaraz's 15-match Grand Slam win streak ends in loss to Botic van de Zandschulp

NEW YORK (AP) — After double-faulting to fall behind two sets to none — a deficit he’s never overcome — in the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday night, Carlos Alcaraz slung his equipment bag over a shoulder and trudged toward the locker room.

Glancing in the direction of his coach, 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz pointed his right index finger at his temple, then wagged that finger, as if to say, “I’m not thinking straight.”

He might have been excused for being confused by what was transpiring under the closed retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium on a chilly evening, and one set later, Alcaraz's 15-match Grand Slam unbeaten streak was over with a sloppy 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 loss to 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp.

“It was a fight against myself, in my mind, during the match. In tennis, you are playing against someone that wants the same as you — to win the match — and you have to be as ... calm as you can, just to think better in the match and try to do good things,” Alcaraz said. “Today I was playing against the opponent, and I was playing against myself, in my mind. A lot of emotions that I couldn’t control.”

The result eliminated the pre-tournament men's favorite and certainly was hard to predict beforehand, given the No. 3-seeded Alcaraz's standing in the game, his excellence of late and his opponent's far-lesser resume.

It followed another exit in Ashe for a past U.S. Open champion, Naomi Osaka, who was sent home Thursday by Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-6 (5). That one, though, was not nearly as out-of-nowhere as what happened to Alcaraz.

He won the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July to raise his career total to four major championships, including taking the title at Flushing Meadows in 2022. Then, in early August, Alcaraz won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.

Maybe, Alcaraz acknowledged, a tennis schedule he called “so tight” drained him too much.

“Probably, I came here with not as much energy as I thought that I was going to (have),” he said. “But, I mean, I don’t want to put that as excuse.”

What's clear is he never found his footing against van de Zandschulp, a 28-year-old from the Netherlands. Alcaraz was way off, repeatedly missing the sorts of shots he usually makes routinely.

The 21-year-old from Spain came in with a 16-2 record at the U.S. Open, where he never lost before the quarterfinals in three previous appearances. This also was Alcaraz’s earliest defeat at any major tournament since bowing out in the second round of Wimbledon in 2021 as a teenager; he’s never been beaten in the first round at a Slam event.

In contrast, van de Zandschulp only once has been to a Grand Slam quarterfinal, getting that far at the U.S. Open in 2021.

Otherwise, though, he is not someone most folks would have expected to pull off this sort of monumental upset. Consider: van de Zandschulp was just 11-18 for the season at the start of this week and hadn’t won consecutive matches at a tour-level event in 2024 until now.

“Actually, I am a little bit at a loss for words,” he said. “It’s been an incredible evening for me.”

Sure was.

The key stat probably was that van de Zandschulp won the point on 28 of his 35 trips to the net.

The opening set was unbelievably lopsided. With van de Zandschulp’s powerful forehands and serves at up to 132 mph finding their marks, Alcaraz never seemed to get comfortable.

He did not produce a single winner in that set and was nearly doubled up in total points, 24-13. The second set was a bit better for him, but not enough so, and a double-fault gift-wrapped a service break that put van de Zandschulp up 6-5. When Alcaraz pushed a forehand wide to end the next game, van de Zandschulp finished off a hold at love that gave him the initial two sets after 1 1/2 hours of action.

Didn’t take long for Alcaraz to fall behind by a break in the third, too, at 3-2, but he made a stand immediately — well, with some help, because van de Zandschulp’s double-fault ceded a break that made it 3-all. Alcaraz then held at love and smiled as he strutted to the changeover.

That grin quickly was gone, though, because Alcaraz's mistakes kept arriving, and van de Zandschulp never folded.

“Of course I had some nerves, but I think if you want to beat one of these guys, you have to keep your calm and keep your head there,” said van de Zandschulp, who will face No. 25 seed Jack Draper of Britain in the third round on Saturday. “Otherwise, they take advantage of it.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after scoring a point against Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, returns a shot to Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain returns a shot to Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, returns a shot to Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain returns a shot to Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, reacts after scoring a point against Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, reacts after scoring a point against Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain returns a shot to Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Botic van De Zandschulp, right, of the Netherlands, greets Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, gestures to fans after losing to Botic van De Zandschulp, of the Netherlands, in a second round match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

BUKWO, Uganda (AP) — Thousands of mourners in Uganda paid respects to Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic athlete who died last week in Kenya after her partner set her on fire, at a military funeral in a remote town near the Kenyan border.

Military officers played a prominent role in the funeral because Cheptegei held the rank of sergeant in Uganda's army, said military spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye, adding that she deserved a “gun salute that befits her rank."

Athletes, family members and others delivered their eulogies before thousands in a sports field in the district of Bukwo.

Cheptegei, who was 33, will be buried later on Saturday.

She died after her body suffered 80% burns in the attack by Dickson Ndiema, who doused her in gasoline at her home in western Kenya’s Trans-Nzoia County on Sept. 3. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed to his injuries.

According to a report filed by the local chief, they quarreled over a piece of land the athlete bought in Kenya.

The horrific gasoline attack shocked many and strengthened calls for the protection of female runners facing exploitation and abuse in the East African country.

Cheptegei’s body was returned to Uganda Friday in a somber procession following a street march by dozens of activists in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret who demanded an end to physical violence against female athletes.

Cheptegei is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in a worrying pattern of gender-based violence in recent years. Kenya’s high rates of violence against women have prompted several marches this year.

Ugandan officials have condemned the attack, demanding justice for Cheptegei. First lady Janet Museveni, who also serves as Uganda’s education and sports minister, described the attack as “deeply disturbing.”

Don Rukare, chairman of the National Council of Sports of Uganda, said in a statement on X that the attack was “a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete.”

Four in 10 women, or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women, have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.

Many Ugandan athletes train across the border in Kenya, an athletics powerhouse with better facilities. Some of the region’s best runners train together at a high-altitude center in Kenya’s west.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, finishing in 44th place, less than a month before the attack. She had represented Uganda at other competitions.

—

Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda.

Members of the public gather for a funeral service of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei ahead of her burial in Kapkoros, Bukwo District, Uganda Saturday, Sept. 14. 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Members of Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) carry the coffin of their colleague Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Koriny Cheptegei, ahead of her burial in Kapkoros, Bukwo District, Uganda Saturday, Sept. 14. 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Members of Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) stand at the casket of their colleague Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Koriny Cheptegei, ahead of her burial in Kapkoros, Bukwo District, Uganda Saturday, Sept. 14. 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Members of the public gather for a funeral service of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei ahead of her burial in Kapkoros, Bukwo District, Uganda Saturday, Sept. 14. 2024. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Mourners pay respects to Ugandan athlete who died after her partner set her on fire

Mourners pay respects to Ugandan athlete who died after her partner set her on fire

FILE -Rebecca Cheptegei, competes at the Discovery 10km road race in Kapchorwa, Uganda, Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo, File)