Botic van de Zandschulp was able to make it 2-0 against Fritz in H2H as he defeated the American 6-4 7-6(2) to secure the
BMW Munich Open final.
van de Zandschulp and Rune were the finalists last year but there wasn't much playing going on as the Dutch player retired from the match with breathing difficulties. It was a rather scary sight as he was accompanied by an ambulance after he retired from the match. He first took a long medical timeout returning to the court but he couldn't carry on.
It was the first trophy Rune won in his career so it was an odd moment for him as he wanted to win it fair and square on the court but ultimately it came as a retirement. van de Zandschulp will have a chance to finally challenge him in Munich properly after beating Fritz with a pretty solid performance.
Fritz didn't play that well this week in Munich struggling to find a really strong rhythm and that was the case in this match as well. Fritz lost his serve midway through the set and then barely avoided losing his serve once more. Botic faced break points in the final game but managed to hold on to take it 6-4. The second set saw Fritz was a few good chances.
He fell behind 0-2 at the start but battled back to make it 3-3 and then eventually battled his way to set points. Botic saved them and send the match into a tiebreak where he outplayed an erratic American 6-4 7-6(2).