The world was in disbelief as No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz faced a stunning defeat against Dutch star Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in Round 2 of the 2024 US Open—his earliest exit at a Grand Slam since 2021 Wimbledon. With a resume of a superstar, Alcaraz’s form throughout the match screamed horrendous at most, with errors plaguing the Spaniard. As the recent Olympic silver medalist sat down for a post-race conference, he looked almost perplexed. While that’s a reaction fans expected, what they didn’t expect was his coaching team’s demeanor!

As per many, there was a lack of support from Juan Carlos Ferrero, which they didn’t shy away from pointing out. The conversation kick-started when one social media user pointed out how “his[Alcaraz] box look like they’re at a funeral”. Notably, Ferrero, a former World No.1 himself has been working with Alcaraz since September 2018, helping him crack the Top 100 for the first time in 2021, and becoming the first teenager—since Andy Murray in 2007—to join the Top-10. The coach also helped the 21-year-old’s phenomenal form, leading him to win the US Open in 2022, the Wimbledon in 2023, and Roland Garros that same year.

As for Alcaraz’s recent defeat, it took the Dutchman just 2 hours and 21 minutes to make headlines with this massive upset. The former World No. 1 struggled soon after the match began as van de Zandschulp clinched two breaks of serve. In the second set, he earned a single break before conceding two of them, relegating him to two sets down. Despite a short break, Alcaraz failed to gather himself as the Dutchman went up 3-2 in the third set.

In a rare instance that day, the Spanish Tennis player made a comeback with a break of serve, before his opponent broke his serve for the sixth time. And from there on, there was no recovery, as a faulty backhand from Alcaraz sealed the match in Zandschulp’s favor. Before the Arthur Ashe Stadium showdown, the duo had faced each other twice—the first time at the Australian Open (2021), which Alcaraz won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, and the second at Basel (2022) which ended 6-4, 6-2 with a losing Zandschulp.

The 2022 US Open champion had a 16-2 record at this tournament, and with this defeat, not only did he leave a blemish on that record, but he also ended his 15-match unbeaten run at major tournaments. On the other hand, the Dutchman successfully managed to keep his head calm while facing a Top 3 opponent. However, the fans lost their minds seeing the body language of Alcaraz’s team during the match.

Fans rally against Alcaraz’s coach

Carlos Alcaraz once said, “I’m winning all the time because I am smiling. And I always said that smiling for me is the key to everything.” Fans usually love watching his bright smile, and whether it’s a tough situation or a winning moment, you’d always see him smiling. But, as tennis commentator Jose Morgado poined out, “Van de Zandschulp double faults and Alcaraz breaks back in the 3rd set. He smiles on his way to the chair but his poor body language is almost as bad as his tennis today. Body language of the box is even worse. This was Ferrero and Molina’s reaction to a big CA winner.”

Carlos Alcaraz has been with his agent, Albert Molina, since the age of 13. Like Ferrero, Molina has witnessed many ups and downs in Alcaraz’s career, contributing enormously to his success. As for his coach, who’s usually full of appreciation for the player, he’s maintained an unusual silence after Alcaraz’s defeat.

Seeing Juan Carlos Ferrero sit with a hand on his cheek and Molina giving in a ‘helpless’ look, another fan joined him, saying, “Really doesn’t help that his box look like they’re at a funeral.” Some of them felt perhaps both Alcaraz and his team were a bit tired. Carlos Alcaraz has so far played around 42 matches in the 2024 season. Some of the fans suggested, “It honestly just seems very much to be burnout. his team should’ve told him to skip cincy and rest.“

The user isn’t wrong though. In a post-match talk, Alcaraz talked about how the “tight scheduling” might have led to his downfall: “Probably, yeah. The tennis schedule is so tight. I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately. With Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Olympics. I took a little break after Olympics. I thought it was enough. It was really helpful for me. Probably it wasn’t enough. I came here without as much energy as I thought I was going to come with,” before continuing, “But I don’t want to use that as an excuse. But it’s so tight. I’m a player who needs more days or more of a break coming into the big tournaments and important ones. I have to think about it and learn about it. Let’s see.”

Zandschulp, on the other hand, was literally speechless after this emphatic victory. He said, “I’m a little lost for words. It was an incredible evening out here in my first time in the night session on Arthur Ashe. I tried to stay calm. You have to keep your head against these guys otherwise they will take advantage.”

If we take a look at the numbers from this match, Alcaraz won just 60% of his first serve and 54% of his second serve. He could only manage to convert just 2 out of his 5 breakpoint chances. His poor performance in this match made some of the fans conclude, “Everyone has been bad. His box, his team, and him. Terrible.“

Others went a step further to take a jibe at the coach. “JCF’s silence is so weird.” The coach’s efforts in transforming raw talent into a shining diamond are undeniable, and he has never faced such criticism in the past.

Do you think he could have shown more energy to push Alcaraz further in this match? Let us know what you think!