Introduction: Carlos Algarz

NEW YORK – Carlos Alcaraz lugged
his gear bag after losing two sets in
the second round of the US Open on

Thursday night, putting him in a position
he was never able to overcome and
that was slowly coming to an end.
I hung up and went to my closet

Alcaraz glanced at his coach, 2003 French champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, and pointed his right index finger at his temple as if to say, “I’m not thinking right, I shook him.”

A set later, Alcaraz’s unbeaten streak stood at six in 15 Grand Slam games, although what unfolded under the retractable roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium on a chilly evening with just one win, one loss and seven defeats would have puzzled him can. He lost to 74th ranked Botic van de Zandsschulp 5:6:4.

It didn’t take long for Algaraz to fall behind 3-2 in the third break, but immediately bounced back, van de Sandsulp double-faulting to take a 3-3 lead. Alcaraz then picked up Love and smiled, expecting a change.

That smile soon faded as Algaraz continued

That smile soon faded as Algaraz continued to make mistakes and van de Sandschulp never gave up.

“Of course I was nervous, but if you want to beat one of the guys, you have to stay calm and keep your cool,” said Van de Sandsulp, who faces 25th-seeded Jack Draper of Great Britain. Saturday, third round. Otherwise, they will be taken advantage of.

Alcaraz will become the first top-three male player to lose in the first two rounds of the US Open since 2006, when No. 3 seed Ivan Ljubicic lost in the first round to Feliciano Lopez. It was the first second-round loss by a US Open player since defending champion Patrick Rafter withdrew from his first-round match against Cedric Pavlin in 1999 because of a shoulder injury

Alcaraz entered the tournament with a 25-1 record against players ranked outside the top 50 in the majors. He suffered his only defeat in the second round of the Australian Open 2021 against Michael Ymer (No. 95).