MANILA, Philippines — Former champions Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka were knocked out of the US Open on Thursday as the final Grand Slam of the year lost two of its biggest crowd-pullers.
Alcaraz, the world number three and 2022 champion in New York, was stunned by Dutch world number 74 Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
Osaka, who counts the 2018 and 2020 US Opens amongst her four career majors, slipped to a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) loss at the hands of 52nd-ranked Czech Karolina Muchova.
Defeat ended his dream of becoming only the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season.
“The tennis schedule is so tight. I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately with Roland Garros, with Wimbledon, Olympic Games,” said Alcaraz who lost a draining Olympics final to Novak Djokovic in Paris.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek charged into the third round, routing 217th-ranked Ena Shibahara of Japan 6-0, 6-1 to record her 55th match win of 2024.
Swiatek, seeking to add a second title in New York to her four French Open triumphs, overwhelmed the 26-year-old qualifier, who was in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time, in just 65 minutes.