“There was a serious thought” – How Botic van de Zandschulp went from contemplating retirement to beating Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open
The former world No 22 had dropped out of the top 100 earlier this year and was thinking about stepping away from the sport in May
Botic Van de Zandschulp, US Open 2024
Image Credit: Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
When Botic van de Zandschulp lost in the first round of Roland-Garros to Fabio Fognini in May this year, the Dutchman contemplated retirement. The 28-year-old had struggled through much of the season, failing to win back-to-back matches at an ATP level event. That torrid stretch had seen his ranking nosedive from 50 at the start of the year to just outside the top 100.
The Dutchman took some time off but continued to play on the tour. Fast forward three months and on Thursday, he scored the biggest win of his career: a straight-sets win over world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the last two Grand Slams, in the second round of the US Open and later explained to the media in New York just how close he was to quitting.
“At the time I said it, I was thinking about it, of course. It was just more the way things were going. got injured last year,” the former world No 22 said. “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. There was a serious thought.”
I think until 5-4 in the third set, I still had something in the back of my mind that he’s going to come up with something special.
Botic Van de Zandschulp on Carlos Alcaraz
Van de Zandschulp, who reached the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows as a qualifier three years ago, explained that the lack of wins made him lose confidence and he was glad he took a step back to the Challenger Tour to regain his confidence.
“The tour is tough. If you’re not seeded in a tournament, you can face, for example, Sinner first round. You can play tough opponents. You can play well, but then still in the end you will lose a lot of matches. I needed a little bit more confidence in winning matches, playing more matches. That’s something I did. After Wimbledon I played a couple of challengers in Europe. I tried to play more matches in a row, and I think that gave my confidence a good boost. Here we are now. I was just happy to play more matches, to win more matches. Of course, it’s different than the ATP to play some challengers, but if I look back on the it, it wasn’t really hard for me.”
“Maybe in a couple of hours or tomorrow I feel a little bit more emotional with what happened tonight” – Van de Zandschulp
The Dutchman credited his win to playing consistent and also being emotionally stable even as he was on the lookout for the Spaniard to produce something special and fight back.
“I think I played, emotional (ly) stable tonight. Also, during my play I think I played unbelievably stable. When I won the first set, for example, you’re going to think he’s coming up with a different level. I actually broke him already quite soon in the second set. Got broken back. Then it went down to 5-All. I served it out pretty good. Then even in the third, you’re thinking, he’s going to come up with something special. I broke him again pretty quick. Got broken again back. I think until 5-4 in the third I still had something in the back of my mind that he’s going to come up with something special. So, I actually was thinking that the whole match.”
The Dutchman appeared quite composed even after the match and admitted that his shock win hadn’t fully sunk in yet. “Maybe I’m still processing it. Maybe in a couple of hours or tomorrow I feel a little bit more emotional with what happened tonight.”
Up next for Van de Zandschulp is a clash against another big striker, Britain’s Jack Draper, a first meeting between the two but the Dutchman knows that he has his work cut out for him. “I think a really good player, having a good season this year. Big serve and big strokes. It’s going to be, again, a really tough match. (I’m) looking forward to the rest of the tournament. I think everybody in the draw, who is still left in the draw, are amazing players. I think every matchup is going to be a tough match up.”
