Interview with Botic van de Zandschulp: "A tournament can definitely change a career"
In an exclusive interview with tennisnet.com ,Botic van de Zandschulp talks about his breakthrough at the US Open 2021, the change from the Challenger to the ATP tour and the matches (and victories) against the absolute top players.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 24, 2022, 03:40 pm
Mr. van de Zandschulp, this weekend you withdrew from the tournament here in Barcelona. What was the reason for this?
I played in Marrakech two weeks ago. My back hurt after my first round match and it was hard for me to really play freely in the games after that. I played anyway, with a bit of pain due to the back injury. And then there was Monte Carlo, I played in Monte Carlo for the first time. And then of course you really want to play: In hindsight it would probably have been better if I had withdrawn from the tournament there before my first match. So I decided to take a week off during Barcelona. Otherwise the back just keeps going I guess and it doesn't get any better. That's why I retired from Barcelona.
Said I don't go to a tournament if I don't feel 100 percent fit.
Botic van de Zandschulp on current injury concerns.
But you plan to return to the tour soon?
Yes, I'm trying to play in Munich. That would be good. Me and my team would have liked to play Barcelona and Munich, but the training sessions before Barcelona on Thursday and Friday before the tournament in Barcelona were not entirely painless. So I still felt my back a bit. That's why I said I don't go to a tournament if I don't feel 100 percent. That's why I chose Munich over the tournament in Barcelona.
So far this season you have reached two quarterfinals and two third rounds at Indian Wells and the Australian Open. How do you rate your start to this year's season?
I think the start of the season is pretty good. Just last year I switched from the Challenger to the ATP tournaments. I think it's a good start to the year. Of course it could have been better or worse. But yeah I think he's alright, he's decent. I'm trying to do better than make the quarterfinals or the third round in a few tournaments for the rest of the year. I've had a few chances to progress in tournaments, but I've lost a few close matches. So I will try to win the close matches in the upcoming tournaments.
Still, you managed to climb quite a bit up the leaderboard. You are currently ranked 41st in the world, 15 places ahead of your compatriot Tallon Griekspoor. Is there some kind of race or competition between the two of you in terms of world rankings?
I don't think it's a race or a competition, but it's nice to have another man from the same country who is almost at the same place as you in the world rankings and then to be able to sort of step up to each other and make each other better . So I think it's a competition: not that one of us has to be number one, but rather that it's just nice when we both climb the world rankings.
Do you two have some kind of friendship? Or to put it another way: did you train a lot together in the early stages of your career? How's your relationship with Tallon?
Yes, it's pretty good. We train a lot together here in Holland. At tournaments you sometimes eat together, especially before the tournament starts, because during the tournament the schedules often differ because one player plays later or the other plays earlier. We go out to dinner sometimes and I think we have a pretty good bond.
Since Richard Krajicek, players from the Netherlands haven't won any major titles. How do you feel about the status quo of tennis in your home country?
We've had Robin Haase for a long time. I don't remember exactly how long he was in the top 50, but I think he was in the top 50 for six, seven, maybe even eight years. So yeah, he was there all the time. And we had Thiemo de Bakker, who I think was there for two years. Igor Sijsling was there for maybe two or three years. Yes, exactly. So we're coming from pretty good times. If you go back a few years, with Richard Krajicek, Paul Haarhuis and so on, we certainly had some great personalities. We had some pretty good names in the top 20 I think. At the moment Tallon (Griekspoor) and I are in the top 100 and we have a couple of guys who are around 200. We're not a big country like Spain, Germany, France or anything like that. But yeah, I think we're fine here at the moment. I think we're improving. More and more people are coming and climbing up the rankings. And I think that's a good thing.
Of course I want to talk to you about your breakthrough at the US Open last year where you broke into the top 100 in a week. How do you feel when you look back on that success in New York City?
It's been a crazy few weeks. I think these two weeks sum up what tennis is like. In the first round of qualifying I lost a set and won the match. In the second round I'm behind in the third set, win the match. Then the third match: tie-break, second set, my opponent only needs two points to win. In the first round in the main draw I'm 0:2 sets behind and he serves for the match. And then I finally made it to the quarterfinals. Yes, in tennis you give yourself a new chance to play better, win and progress in tournaments every time. I think you don't always have to play well, but if you win the tight matches you have more chances to play better later in the tournament. For me in New York, I started playing better tennis from the second round and improved more and more over the course of the tournament. In the first few rounds my level wasn't that good, but I still won the matches. Yes, that's how it is in tennis. I think right now you see so many tournaments where players have match points in the first or second round and then go to the finals or win the tournament. It's like giving yourself a new chance every time. I think I did very well in the USA.
You mentioned that it's very tight at the top and a couple of points can make all the difference. Do you think these types of tournaments where you come back in a few matches early in the tournament and then go far in the tournament can really change a whole career, or is it just the feel for the coming months that changes , if you create something like this?
Corona was an issue for me at first, because it took me a little longer to be in the top 100 in the world rankings. When you start playing tennis, that's one of the main goals. You want to be in the top 100 and make a living from your hobby. I think I was 110 or 115 when the US Open started, so I was on the right track. But then you get so many points from the US Open that you completely skip places 70, 80. I went straight from 115th to 60th place. In that sense, it's fair to say that one tournament can change a career, hopefully for the better. For me, this year is so much different than the last few years. Before that I was involved with the challengers and now I play in all the big tournaments and I'm in the main draw. Yes, one tournament can definitely change your career.
In the quarterfinals at the US Open - like in the third round of the Australian Open - you lost to Daniil Medvedev. Are you preparing to face him again in the Grand Slams?
Of course it's always nice when you meet him later in the tournament. I'm trying to get seeded in the Grand Slams. Now I'm 41st so I need some more good results to do that. It makes things a bit easier when you can only face him in the third round. Still I think he plays great tennis, he's always a tough opponent but there are so many other tough opponents. For me it was now twice Medvedev, who was my opponent in the Grand Slams. You really have to win against him yourself, you don't get points for free. That's why he was world number one a few weeks ago and now world number two. So it's always nice when you're a bit further away from him in the draw.
When you turned 23, you weren't in the top 500 in the world. Have you ever doubted that you could make it as far as you are now?
Yes, I was 23. Time flies (smiles). When I was 21 I was like - I think - 300th place or something. I started playing futures when I was 20. I knew I had the level, I was beating players who were in the top 100 or close to the 100. It gives you confidence when you beat these guys, even if you're a lot lower placed than them. Then you know that you can play this level. Of course it's much more difficult to play consistently for a whole year and reach that level every time than to win against these players just once. Still, it gave you a lot of confidence. As a 23-year-old, I told myself I'd try again to see how it turned out. Thankfully, I've climbed the world rankings every time since this year. So I still had the motivation and will to keep going year after year. Of course it's not easy to get there, but I still believed that I could make the top 100. Otherwise I wouldn't have tried it when I was 23.
You didn't play much on the ATP tour before last year's US Open. Since then you have played almost every one of your tournaments on the ATP tour. How did you manage to adapt so quickly to the new level being played on the ATP Tour?
Of course it's different people, different atmosphere, different tournaments. Traveling is also a bit different. I don't know, I've won most of the matches I've had to win and that's a good start on the ATP tour. Maybe it helped that I'm a bit older because I came on the ATP tour when I was 26 and you see a lot of new players who are 20 or 21 and maybe it's a bit difficult at first. So, yeah, maybe age helped me a bit. Maybe it's a good thing that I got into the top 100 late, so I was able to adapt a bit better. I just did my thing, I didn't really do anything different than usual.
As well as playing against players you've had to win against, you've also beaten Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime, both top 10 players, in recent months. How do you feel in these matches against the top players?
I feel good in these matches, I feel like I don't have to do anything special to be able to compete with them. I just have to play my game and I know it's good enough to win against these guys. It's not like I have to do anything special to beat them. It's important for me to stay consistent throughout the year and try to get to the same level in every game and every week that I play. I feel comfortable playing against these guys. Now I just have to feel comfortable every time I play against them.
At the end of our interview, I would like to ask you for a brief overview of your goals for the coming months: What are your goals for the season and maybe also your goals for the next season?
I want to get as far as being seeded in the Grand Slams. So that means I have to be 32nd in the world rankings. I'm trying to reach that position. Of course, the US Open is coming up this year, so I have points to defend, but on the other hand, I have many new chances to get more points. Those are my goals in terms of ranking. The goal for my tennis is to be more consistent throughout the year and try to get my level as high as possible and then keep it consistent. It's a big challenge, but it's nice that there are always new challenges in this sport.
Thank you for the interview!