Botic van de Zandschulp teaches Emma Raducanu huge lesson after beating Carlos Alcaraz

Botic van de Zandschulp taught Emma Raducanu a valuable lesson after claiming the biggest win of his career at the US Open. The Dutchman secured a remarkable triumph over Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets, pulling off one of the greatest shocks in Grand Slam history.

Van de Zandschulp was the heavy underdog going into the match but produced the display of his life to earn a comfortable 6-1 7-5 6-4 victory. He was allowed to dominate proceedings, with Alcaraz making a series of uncharacteristic errors as he slumped to defeat.

Speaking after the match, Van de Zandschulp explained that was full of confidence after dropping down to Challenger level to find his form ahead of the US Open.

"I needed more self-confidence after Wimbledon," he said. "I played a few challengers in Europe and I think that boosted my self-confidence. The tour is tough. You can play well and still only have two matches a week."

His approach was very different to that of Raducanu, who played just three matches between Wimbledon and the US Open. She skipped the Olympics before missing the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open after being denied wildcards for both tournaments.

Raducanu chose not to take part in qualifying for the latter, instead opting for a training block ahead of her return to Flushing Meadows. Her inactivity came back to bite her, with the one-time US Open champion losing to Sofia Kenin in the first round.

She was visibly emotional in the immediate aftermath of the match and later confessed that she felt 'down and sad' following her defeat. Only time will tell if she will learn her lesson and take part in more tournaments ahead of future Grand Slam events.

Andy Roddick recently said he was unsure why Raducanu chose not to qualify for the Cincinnati Open when Naomi Osaka was able to put her pride to one side and take part.

Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, he said: "I loved what she was building through Washington and then she decided she wasn’t going to play qualifiers in any of the tournaments, which is even stranger when you see someone like Naomi Osaka put pride on the side and go play qualifiers in Cincinnati.

"Those of us questioning that decision maybe felt validated once we see someone like an Osaka go play qualifying. So, we don’t know, I loved what Raducanu was building at Wimbledon. I loved the continuation of that in Washington."