Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz reacts after his defeat towards Netherlands’ Botic van De Zandschulp throughout their males’s singles second spherical tennis match on day 4 of the US Open tennis match on the USTA Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Middle in New York Metropolis, on August 29, 2024. |Picture by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
NEW YORK, United States — Former champions Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka had been knocked out of the US Open on Thursday as the ultimate Grand Slam of the yr misplaced two of its greatest crowd-pullers.
Alcaraz, the world quantity three and 2022 champion in New York, was surprised by Dutch world quantity 74 Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
Osaka, who counts the 2018 and 2020 US Opens amongst her 4 profession majors, slipped to a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) loss by the hands of 52nd-ranked Czech Karolina Muchova.
Alcaraz had made no less than the quarter-finals in his three earlier appearances in New York. Thursday’s defeat was his earliest at a Grand Slam since a second spherical exit at Wimbledon in 2021.
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Defeat ended his dream of changing into solely the third man within the trendy period to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the identical season.
“The tennis schedule is so tight. I’ve been enjoying numerous matches these days with Roland Garros, with Wimbledon, Olympic Video games,” mentioned Alcaraz who misplaced a draining Olympics closing to Novak Djokovic in Paris simply over three weeks in the past.
“I took somewhat break after the Olympic Video games. Most likely it wasn’t sufficient. Most likely I got here right here with not as a lot vitality as I believed that I used to be going to come back. However I don’t wish to put that as excuse.”
‘Unbelievable night’
Van de Zandschulp mentioned he was misplaced for phrases after solely his second profession win over a prime 5 participant.
“It was an unimaginable night out right here in my first time within the night time session on Arthur Ashe,” he mentioned.
“I attempted to remain calm. It’s important to maintain your head towards these guys in any other case they’ll take benefit.”
He broke twice within the opening set to stake his claims in entrance of a shell-shocked crowd.
He was breaks to the nice in units two and three, leaving Alcaraz to counter-punch earlier than surrendering his hard-earned foothold.
His destiny was sealed when he dedicated his twenty seventh and closing unforced error of the night time as van de Zandschulp pulled off one of many greatest upsets in current Grand Slam historical past.
The Dutchman, who had misplaced his two earlier matches with Alcaraz, will subsequent face Twenty fifth-seeded Jack Draper.
Japan’s Naomi Osaka returns the ball to Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova throughout their girls’s singles second spherical tennis match on day 4 of the US Open tennis match on the USTA Billie Jean King Nationwide Tennis Middle in New York Metropolis, on August 29, 2024. | Picture by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
For Osaka, her comeback from maternity go away stays stalled.
She missed final yr’s match after giving beginning to daughter Shai however made up for that absence within the first spherical when she brushed apart Jelena Ostapenko for a primary prime 10 win in 4 yeats.
Nevertheless, on Thursday the 26-year-old went right down to a straight units loss to 2023 semi-finalist Muchova, leaving her with no third spherical look on the majors because the 2022 Australian Open.
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Osaka blew three set factors within the second set earlier than a wild forehand handed her Czech rival victory.
“It’s been somewhat tough as a result of clearly I can solely gauge how I’m doing by outcomes. I really feel quicker. I really feel higher, however I misplaced within the second spherical. So it’s somewhat tough,” mentioned Osaka.
Muchova will meet Russia’s Anastasia Potapova for a final 16 spot.
“Actually this yr the largest win for me is that I may play once more,” mentioned Muchova who picked up a wrist damage finally yr’s US Open which sidelined her for 9 months.
Alcaraz’s defeat eliminated a serious title barrier from the trail of prime seed Jannik Sinner, who had been scheduled to satisfy the Spaniard within the semi-finals.
World primary Sinner gained his fiftieth match of the yr when he defeated America’s Forty ninth-ranked Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 to make the final 32 for a fourth successive yr.
The 23-year-old Italian unleashed 28 winners and broke serve eight instances. He’ll face Australia’s Christopher O’Connell for a spot within the final 16.
Ladies’s world primary Iga Swiatek charged into the third spherical, routing 217th-ranked Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-0, 6-1 to file her fifty fifth match win of 2024.
Poland’s Swiatek, the 2022 US Open winner who’s looking for so as to add a second title in New York to her 4 French Open triumphs, overwhelmed the 26-year-old qualifier, who was in the principle draw of a Grand Slam for the primary time, in simply 65 minutes.
She goes on to face Twenty fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who was a quarter-finalist in New York 13 years in the past.
Rybakina withdraws
Swiatek then noticed probably semi-final opponent Elena Rybakina withdraw from the match forward of her second spherical conflict with 143rd-ranked French qualifier Jessika Ponchet.
Rybakina issued an announcement saying she was pressured to withdraw “due to my accidents”.
Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 runner-up, suffered a left ankle damage and was pressured to retire from her match with fifth-seed Jasmine Paolini after simply three factors.
Fourth seed and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev defeated Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in straight units
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