Who is Botic van de Zandschulp?

He is in the quarter-finals of the US Open in his first US Open appearance. Who is Botic van de Zandschulp?

117-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp is not only entering his first Grand Slam, but he is also always a first-time visitor to New York and the U.S. It’s hard to argue against it being a very successful trip. Tonight he beat Diego Schwartzman in a tough five-setter, where he won the first two sets, lost set 3 and 4 with a tight margin, and then ran over Schwartzman in the fifth. Final score: 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 to the 25-year-old Dutchman.

I don’t think anyone saw this coming when he beat Casper Ruud in the second round, but Zandschulp has seemingly forgotten how to lose tennis matches.

Zandschulp will now face second seed Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semi-finals after firing 55 winners past Schwartzman. It was the first match in six where had won the first set.

“The atmosphere was great,” van de Zandschulp added. “I couldn’t let you guys down. The first for me in America and it has been great. I think before the tournament nobody expected me to reach the quarter-finals here and I hope they are proud in the Netherlands.”

Who is Botic van de Zandschulp?

Would you call him a journeyman? Perhaps. But with this performance, he is now moving into the top 100 players in the world after winning three qualifying matches and getting all the way to the US Open quarter-finals. I think that Daniil Medvedev in the kind of form he is in will be a tough challenge (too tough), but Zandschulp has nothing to lose. It’s all icing on the cake now.

It’s been a good tournament for qualifiers with Gojowczyk and Otte also reaching (at least) the fourth round. It shows that if you fight hard and play with confidence, a ranking can be just a ranking.

Like I say in my recent video about US Open racquets, Zandschulp uses a 2019 Babolat Pure Aero. Not sure about strings or specs.

Zandschulp’s best year ever

• Achieved career-high No. 117 in 2021 after breaking into Top 300 and Top 200 in 2019.
• Went 11-1 in Grand Slam qualifying matches in 2021, qualifying at Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open, while entering Wimbledon as LL (l. to Trungelliti in Q3).
• Rallied from 2 sets down vs. No. 20 Hurkacz for the biggest win of his career in 2021 Roland Garros 1R.
• Earned 3 wins and advanced to 2021 Melbourne-1 QF in ATP Tour debut.
• Defeated countryman T. Griekspoor en route to 1st Challenger title of career at 2019 Hamburg.