Botic van de Zandschulp gave himself to the end of the year to turn things around after foot injuries left him contemplating retirement, but after beating Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open it's safe to say he'll not hang up his racket anytime soon.
The world number 74 outclassed third seed Alcaraz 6-1 7-5 6-4 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday to move past the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time since mid-2022.
It was the biggest win of the 28-year-old's Dutchman's career and came against an opponent who had won back-to-back Grand Slams and was on a 15-match winning streak at the majors.
"Maybe I'm still processing it," Van de Zandschulp said shortly after his stunning win over the 2022 champion.
"Maybe in a couple of hours or tomorrow I feel a little bit more emotional with what happened tonight."
Van de Zandschulp bruised a bone in his left foot last year and later tore ankle ligaments, before dealing with an infection on his right foot. He began questioning his future in the sport after a first-round defeat at the French Open in May.
"At the time I said it, I was thinking about it. It was just more the way things were going," said Van de Zandschulp, who was ranked 115th in April.
"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, then there was a chance maybe I would stop playing.
"Of course, I would give myself to the end of the year and see how everything was progressing. Yeah, of course, there was a serious thought."
"Draper is a really good player, having a good season this year. Big serve and big strokes. So it's going to be, again, a really tough match.
"I'm looking forward to the rest of the tournament. I think everybody who is still left in the draw are amazing players. So, yeah, every match is going to be tough."
Alcaraz never recovered from a shaky start and made unforced errors throughout as Van de Zandschulp ended the French Open and Wimbledon champion's winning run.
The 21-year-old from Spain was on the back foot early on as Van de Zandschulp claimed the opening three games with some resolute defending from the back of the court, and the Dutchman broke again in the sixth game en route to taking the first set.
Alcaraz produced a stunning forehand pass to hold serve in the first game of the next set but the four-times major winner's struggles to close out points resurfaced as Van de Zandschulp broke for a 2-1 lead.
A tactical tweak to return serve from deeper helped Alcaraz break back immediately but the 2022 champion gifted his opponent another break with a double fault and Van de Zandschulp went on to comfortably double his advantage in the match.
After briefly leaving the court before the third set, the Spaniard found himself in deeper trouble after a wayward forehand handed Van de Zandschulp a break.
He hit back immediately and found his smile again, but the Dutchman got his nose in front and completed a stunning upset on serve.
"Actually I am a little bit lost for words. It's been an incredible evening here," said Van de Zandschulp after the match.
"I think from point one here today I believed (I had) a chance. I had some nerves, but I think if you want to beat one of these guys you have to be unbelievably calm and keep your head there."
