Three things you should know about Botic Van De Zandschulp

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Dutch tennis player Botic van de Zandschulp surprised the crowd at the US Open by beating world number three Carlos Alcaraz in three sets in the second round.

AFP Sport looks at three things you need to know about the 28-year-old who ended Alcaraz’s 15-game Grand Slam winning streak:

Throughout his career, tennis commentators and opponents have struggled to pronounce Van De Zandschulp’s first and last names. Even in his native Netherlands, it wasn’t always easy.

His first name is pronounced “Bo-tik”, as opposed to the more traditional ending “-ich”.

His surname, which literally means ‘of a sandy shell’, also makes non-Dutch speakers have a lot to say, especially the second syllable which refers to the ‘shell’, or ‘schulp’ in Dutch.

The player’s seemingly aloof and emotionless demeanor on and off the field has earned him the nickname “Van de Zandzak” by some, meaning “from a sandbag”.

Van de Zandschulp was born in the Dutch agricultural town of Wageningen in the rural central province of Gelderland.

He started playing tennis at the age of four at a club in nearby Veenendaal and qualified for national level training at the age of seven.

In 2016 he played his first professional tournament in Breda. Later that year he won the Dutch men’s singles championship by beating Robin Haase in the final.

The then 25-year-old Van de Zandschulp made his debut at the main draw of a Grand Slam in 2021, where he was ironically defeated by his then teammate Alcaraz.

That same year, he reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open after knocking out eighth seed Casper Ruud and 11th seed Diego Schwartzman, losing to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.

With this, Van de Zandschulp became the first Dutchman to reach the last eight of a major tournament since Sjeng Schalken at Wimbledon in 2004.

Van de Zandschulp achieved a career-high ranking of 22nd in August 2022.

Thursday’s victory over Alcaraz, his biggest win to date, came three months after his disastrous first-round exit at Roland Garros.

This defeat dropped his world ranking to 102nd and he considered quitting the sport.

But Van de Zandschulp recovered.

“The most important thing is that I play well again, that I feel good about myself. Then the results will come automatically,” said Van de Zandschulp before the start of the US Open.

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