What happened to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open 2024?

Carlos Alcaraz arrived at the US Open 2024 as one of the great favorites to lift the trophy. However, he has disappointed all his fans, and probably himself as well, falling in the second round to the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp by 1-6, 5-7, 4-6 after having beaten the Australian Li Tu in the first round by 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

There are several reasons that may explain this surprising defeat, although two stand out above the rest. The first is the recurring issue of the calendar. In addition, we are talking about a player who is used to reaching the final rounds of tournaments, so perhaps he has had a somewhat excessive load of matches during this part of the season.

We have to go back to the month of May, when he started his way to the conquest of Roland Garros. There he played all seven matches, finishing the last two with electrifying five-set duels and having to come from behind. Shortly after, he started the grass tour, where he failed at Queen's, losing in the round of 16, but revalidated his Wimbledon title by beating Novak Djokovic again in the final.

All this took a significant mental toll, as is normal for any athlete and even more so for a 21-year-old. But then came the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the world number 3 had a tremendous desire to give the gold medal to Spain and was the top candidate to have won in Paris just a few weeks before.

He fell just short of his goal, suffering a defeat in the title match and having to settle for silver. From there he took a few days of vacation to recharge his batteries physically and mentally before starting the trip to the United States to play the Cincinnati Open. Before that he had preferred to skip the Canadian Open to arrive fresher.

At the Masters 1000 nothing went according to plan. He ran into Gael Monfils in his debut in the tournament, and despite winning the first set and two rain breaks, he ended up losing to the Frenchman by a score of 4-6, 6-7(5), 4-6. In that third set we saw something totally unusual in him, something we had never seen him do since he came to the pros, break a racquet in the middle of the match.

He apologized the next day on social networks, explained that he was very frustrated and had not been able to control himself but that he would be ready for the US Open. In Flushing Meadows, we have seen again the worst version of Carlos Alcaraz, one of the best players in the world, a man who is on his way to make tennis history, but who still needs to keep learning and improving.

Whether it is a physical or a mental problem, Carlitos now has to take a real break, think things over and face the final stretch of the year with strength. He still has important tournaments to play such as the Shanghai Masters, the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup, where he will surely want to redeem himself and win his first title with his country.