Alex de Minaur’s US Open campaign ended with a jolt in the second round, undone in straight sets by an inspired Botic van de Zandschulp in New York.
The Australian, expected to push deep into the tournament, never found his rhythm and fell 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to the Dutchman in a match that stretched to two hours and 43 minutes but rarely tilted his way.
A slow start that never recovered
From the opening games, van de Zandschulp looked settled, striking cleanly and pinning de Minaur behind the baseline. The first set slipped away 6-4, the Dutch player controlling the key points while the Australian chased the scoreboard.
De Minaur tried to raise the tempo in the second. He fought harder, extended rallies, and looked to drag the contest into the kind of physical battle that usually suits him. The set tightened. The tension grew.
The pressure told – but on the wrong racquet. At 7-5, van de Zandschulp had pocketed the second set as well, and with it, a stranglehold on the match.
Dutch dominance in the decider
Any hope of a late surge from de Minaur evaporated early in the third. Van de Zandschulp broke serve, then broke again, pulling away to 6-2 and sealing a straight-sets victory that ABC News Australia described as an upset.
The scoreline underlined the story: 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. Three sets to the Dutchman. None to the Australian. No tie-breaks, no foothold, no way back.
For de Minaur, it was a sudden and unexpected exit, his last act at this year’s US Open ending not with a run to the second week, but with a second-round defeat that will sting long after the lights go down in New York.
