Zandschulp, on the verge of quitting tennis, upsets Alcaraz
Botic van de Zandschulp gave himself to the end of the year to turn things around after foot injuries left him contemplating retirement but after beating Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open it is safe to say he will not hang up his racket anytime soon.
The world No. 74 outclassed third seed Alcaraz 6-1 7-5 6-4 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday to move past the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time since mid-2022.
It was the biggest win of the 28-year old’s career and came against an opponent who had won back-to-back Grand Slams and was on a 15-match winning streak at the majors.
“Maybe I’m still processing it,” Van de Zandschulp said shortly after his stunning win over the 2022 champion. “Maybe in a couple of hours or tomorrow I feel a little bit more emotional with what happened tonight.”
Van de Zandschulp bruised a bone in his left foot last year and later tore ankle ligaments, before dealing with an infection on his right foot. He began questioning his future in the sport after a first-round defeat at the French Open in May. “At the time I said it, I was thinking about it. It was just more the way things were going,” said Van de Zandschulp, who was ranked 115th in April.
“I got injured last year. Still had some troubles with the injury from last year. That was for me like, if I have to keep playing with the pain I had, then there was a chance maybe I would stop playing. “Of course, I would give myself to the end of the year and see how everything was progressing. Yeah, of course, there
