Botic van de Zandschulp failed to reach the final of an ATP tournament for the first time in his career. In the semifinals in Saint Petersburg, Marin Cilic turned out to be a size too big today. The Croatian number 35 in the world won in two sets: 6-3, 6-3.
In the first set, Van de Zandschulp requested a medical time-out. The Dutchman didn’t seem to feel well, but was given a pill and continued. Cilic turned out to have enough with one break: 6-3.
Also in set two, the born Wageninger was unable to bring out his best game. His second service resulted in a break and moments later it was 3-1 for Cilic. Van de Zandschulp didn’t give in, but his opponent’s strong servings made it impossible to break back. At 5-3, Cilic then finished it off on the service of the Dutchman.
Top week
In the first round of the hard court tournament in Saint Petersburg, Van de Zandschulp had easily dealt with Japanese co-qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka (6-2, 6-2). Then the Dutchman encountered Sebastian Korda, the talented son of former tennis top player Petr Korda. Van de Zandschulp also made short work of the eighth seeded American: 6-2, 7-5.
Van de Zandschulp then defeated top favorite Andrey Roeblev in two sets in the quarterfinals: 6-3, 6-4. He could not continue that stunt a day later. With a win today, Van de Zandschulp would have been the first Dutch tennis player to reach an ATP final since Robin Haase did in 2016 in Gstaad. Feliciano López then defeated the resident of The Hague in two sets.
American Taylor Fritz is Cilic’s opponent in the final. The number 28 in the world won his semifinal against the German Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets: 5-7 6-1 6-3.
International breakthrough
Van de Zandschulp is working on his international breakthrough this season. The native Wageninger started this year as the number 156 in the world, but rose like a comet thanks to good performances and now finds himself back in place 69 in the ATP ranking. In particular, his quarterfinal place at the US Open caused quite a stir.
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