Upsets Abound at the U.S. Open

           On August 29, Carlos Alcaraz lost against Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the U.S. Open. One day later, on August 30, Novak Djokovic was knocked out by Alexei Popyrin in the third round. These two upsets shook the tennis world; everyone was confused as to how two of the best players in the world—who had just faced off in the Olympic finals only a few months ago—were beaten by players very few non-tennis fans have ever even heard of. 

          At least one of Tennis’ “Big 3” (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic) has managed to win a Grand Slam every year since 2003, but the underdog Popyrin ended that long-standing record. Since the start of Djokovic’s career, he has remained a steadfast and dominant force in the tennis world, consistently besting even the strongest players. He has been the most dominant player men’s tennis has ever witnessed, winning every trophy possible in the sport, including 24 Grand Slams, an Olympic gold, and 40 ATP (The Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters tournaments. He has been ranked number 1 for a total of 428 weeks across 13 different years; no one else has spent more total weeks at number one. Even at 37 years of age, he was ranked second, right behind Jannik Sinner, heading into the US Open. Since first appearing on tour in 2003, Djokovic has reached the US Open finals 10 times, prevailing as the victor four of those times, which would seemingly make him a strong contender to make the finals. Many anticipated that Djokovic would win a record-setting 25th Grand Slam, especially after Alcaraz’s unexpected early exit at the hands of Zandschulp, but his hopes of winning ended abruptly and surprisingly.

          Following his incredible Olympic performance in France, Djokovic could not reach the same levels at the US Open. In an interview, he said that “[he] spent a lot of energy winning the gold” and did not come to New York “feeling fresh mentally and physically” (NPR). Djokovic displayed his fatigue in his playing, winning only 19 of the 40 points he had at net. Djokovic was utterly lacking in every aspect of that match: he got broken in five service games, and only had 31 winners compared to Popyrin’s 52, ultimately suffering a dramatic 3-0 loss against the 62nd-ranked Alexei Popyrin.

          The man that Djokovic defeated to claim the Olympic Gold, Carlos Alcaraz, was having a great run in the Open Era. He won two of three Grand Slams so far this year: Wimbledon and Roland Garros. In the two Grand Slams, he beat Alexander Zverev and Djokovic, two incredibly formidable players, but his prior consistency did not aid him in his battle against Zandschulp. In this year’s US Open, Alcaraz lost in the second round, the earliest he has ever bowed out of a Grand Slam since his Wimbledon showing in 2021. 

After the loss, Alcaraz stated that he played two opponents that match: himself and Zandschulp. “It was a fight against myself, you know,” he said in his post-match press conference. Even after winning so many titles, his mental fortitude was not on par with his physical performance, which prevented him from winning against Zandschulp. Alcaraz had his intermittent moments of brilliance, where he would hit an amazing shot and recover from a loss, but each time he tried to go for more, he would fall apart. He said that "[he] couldn't increase [his] level,” believing that “[his] level stayed at the same point all the match,” which was the reason he could not rise to beat Zandschulp.

          The two players, Popyrin and Zandschulp, marked huge milestones in their tennis careers with their victories over Alcaraz and Djokovic. With both having suffered significant losses in previous Grand Slams, it was definitely refreshing for them to have gone so far into the US Open, especially given the fact they defeated such strong opponents to do so.