Botic the Giant Killer: Van de Zandschulp adds another scalp to impressive standout list

Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp has added another feather in his cap as he defeated another big-name player. The 29-year-old had an interesting career trajectory as less than 12 months back, he was considering retirement from professional tennis.

Van de Zandschulp secured another big triumph as he registered an upset win over the former world number one Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the round of 64 of the Indian Wells with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. The 37-year-old, who is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, after having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles, becomes the third big-name player who Van de Zandschulp has defeated in the last 12 months.

He defeated the former world number one Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the final outing of his career in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. Before that, the Wageningen-born tennis star defeated current world number three Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.

Talking after the match, Van de Zandschulp expressed satisfaction about his performance and highlighted that one of the reasons why he managed to defeat arguably the greatest player in men’s tennis is because he managed to keep his ‘cool’ during the contest.

“I think I kept my cool during the whole match,” said Van de Zandschulp. “The second set was very tough, he gained a big lead. But I think I did well turning it to 5-3 to get the momentum back a little bit. I think I started well, surviving one or two games in the third set, and then broke and turned it around. I know if I go into the match and lose my cool, especially against the big players, it’s going to be a really tough day. That’s always one thing I’m trying to do well.”