NEW DELHI: After considering retirement due to foot issues, Botic van de Zandschulp gave himself till the end of the year to turn things around. However, after defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, it is safe to assume that he will not be hanging up his racket anytime soon.
Under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday, the world number 74 defeated Alcaraz, the third seed, 6-1 7-5 6-4 to advance past the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time since mid-2022, as per Reuters.
The 28-year-old's greatest victory to date came against an opponent who was riding a 15-match winning streak and had just won back-to-back Grand Slams.
"Maybe I'm still processing it," Van de Zandschulp said shortly after his stunning win over the 2022 champion.
"Maybe in a couple of hours or tomorrow I feel a little bit more emotional with what happened tonight."
Last year, Van de Zandschulp suffered a bone bruise in his left foot, tore ligaments in his ankle, and then had to contend with an infection in his right foot. After losing in the first round of the French Open in May, he started to doubt his future in the game.
"At the time I said it, I was thinking about it. It was just more the way things were going," said Van de Zandschulp, who was ranked 115th in April.
"I got injured last year. 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. Yeah, of course, there was a serious thought."
The Dutchman, who has been playing Challenger events to gradually improve his skills, will take against the British player Jack Draper in the third round and hopes to improve on his quarterfinal performance in New York three years prior.
"Draper is a really good player, having a good season this year. Big serve and big strokes. So it's going to be, again, a really tough match," Van de Zandschulp said.
"I'm looking forward to the rest of the tournament. I think everybody who is still left in the draw are amazing players. So, yeah, every match is going to be tough."
