Botic van de Zandschulp rallies at US Open

Botic van de Zandschulp is back in the US Open quarterfinals after another long New York fight. The Dutch player rallied from two sets down on Tuesday, September 8, to beat French lucky loser Arthur Gea in the fourth round and move into the last eight, according to the tournament’s official social post and match listings. The result adds another deep run in New York for van de Zandschulp, who also made the US Open quarterfinals in 2021. ATP Tour records list the 30-year-old Dutchman as a former world No. 22, and an ATP feature published in August described that 2021 run as a breakthrough in his career. ### How unusual was this comeback? (tennis.com) Tuesday’s win stood out because van de Zandschulp had to recover from a two-set deficit to get through. The US Open’s official account said he rallied from two sets down in a match that lasted about five hours. Five-set recoveries are rare enough on the men’s side to define a tournament run, and this one came in the second week of a Grand Slam. (atptour.com) Tennis.com’s match page identified the contest as a men’s singles fourth-round match on Grandstand on September 7, with detailed statistics showing how close the match was across service and return numbers. (tennistale.com) ### Who did van de Zandschulp beat? Arthur Gea, a French lucky loser, was van de Zandschulp’s fourth-round opponent. A US Open preview published on September 6 said Gea would face van de Zandschulp on Monday and identified the Frenchman as a lucky loser. (tennis.com) The same preview underscored the gap in experience between the two players. Van de Zandschulp entered as an established tour player with a previous US Open quarterfinal on his résumé, while Gea was making a surprise run through the draw. (usopen.org) ### What do the match numbers show? Official match statistics posted on Tennis.com showed van de Zandschulp hit 14 aces and nine double faults. The same page listed Gea with nine aces and 12 double faults, while both players won 63% of first-serve points. Break-point chances also show how thin the margin was. (usopen.org) Gea converted 7 of 15 break points, while van de Zandschulp converted 7 of 21, according to the match page. ### Why does New York matter so much for van de Zandschulp? In an ATP Tour feature published on August 26, van de Zandschulp said his 2021 US Open quarterfinal run was a pivotal moment in his career. (tennis.com) He recalled beating Diego Schwartzman in five sets that year after letting a two-set lead slip to 2-2, then using television commentary as motivation before the deciding set. That history gives Tuesday’s comeback a familiar shape. The ATP piece quoted van de Zandschulp saying that, earlier in his career, he might not have had the mental strength to finish that kind of match. ### What happens next in the draw? The US Open social post said van de Zandschulp will play his quarterfinal on September 11 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. (atptour.com) The tournament’s main site lists Arthur Ashe Stadium as the lead court for marquee matches during the event, which runs through September 13. September 11 is now the next fixed point in van de Zandschulp’s tournament. His quarterfinal appearance will be his latest chance to extend a run that has again turned New York into the deepest Grand Slam stop of his career. (tennistale.com)