"There was a serious thought": Botic van de Zandschulp admits recently thinking about retirement after stunning win over Carlos Alcaraz at US Open

Dutch tennis player Botic van de Zandschulp has revealed that he was considering retirement a few months back after securing a memorable win at the US Open. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year is already underway where players from all over the world are participating to showcase their talent and secure the ultimate prize.

Netherlands’ Van de Zandschulp produced arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament as he defeated pre-tournament favourite and 2022 winner Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the second-round contest in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. After the match, the Wageningen-born star revealed that he was considering retirement some time back.

“Yeah, at the time I said it, I was thinking about it [retirement], of course,” he said. “Yeah, it was just more the way things were going. 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, yeah, then there was a chance maybe I would stop playing. Of course, I will give myself to the end of the year and see how everything was progressing. Yeah, of course, there was a serious thought.”

During the match, the 28-year-old won 78 percent of points on the first serve. He also converted six break points, four more than Alcaraz. It is only the second time in his career that Van de Zandschulp booked his place in the third round of the US Open. Previously, he played in the quarterfinal of the event back in 2021, where he lost to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev with a score of 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5. He is now set to face Britain’s Jack Draper in the third round of the competition. The 22-year-old cemented his place in the round of 32 after beating Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.