Botic van de Zandschulp starts the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals in Glasgow on Tuesday. The leader of the Dutch team fights in his first real year on the ATP tour every now and then against tennis fatigue and was extinguished after the US Open.
,,I’m going to do nothing for a while, I need that for a while. And then I’ll see when I pick up my racket again,” said Van de Zandschulp a week and a half ago after his defeat against Frenchman Corentin Moutet at the US Open. The number 22 in the world, who will lose a lot of places in the ranking, knows it due to a too busy schedule.
,,It’s my first full year on the tour and there are a lot of great tournaments you want to play. And maybe you’ll play more than you actually want to play. You then play for the sake of playing and then you know in advance that you are not going to deliver a good tournament,” said Van de Zandschulp (26).
,,I also had that at a certain moment in America, that I started training just to train. It’s your job too and you have to get out on the track fresh to work on things, not just get out on the track. When I played in Europe earlier in my career, you could occasionally go home in between. Now that’s a lot more difficult. I have to learn from that next year.”
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After a few days away from tennis I really felt like playing tennis again
A year ago, Van de Zandschulp made his breakthrough by reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open as a qualifier. A year later, he returned as a seeded player and someone to be seriously reckoned with.
,,I was able to tick off all my goals very quickly. Throughout the year I have won my competitions everywhere. If I am physically good and fresh in my head – so then it is necessary not to get tired of tennis – then I can reach a good level. In some periods of the season I may have to play a little less tournaments.”
After a visit to Go Ahead Eagles – Feyenoord and some meetings with family and friends, Van de Zandschulp is looking forward to the last months of the season. ,,After a few days away from tennis, I really felt like playing tennis again. After the US Open it feels like I can go into the end of this year a little more freely.”
Davis Cup
Van de Zandschulp will be the leader of Orange next week in Glasgow, but everyone is equal for him. “I am not the type of person who is going to tell others how to do it,” said Van de Zandschulp, who will compete in Glasgow against Kazakhstan, Great Britain and the United States.
,,It is a very tough group, but also a group in which a lot is possible. We are slightly more favorite against Kazakhstan, but against England and America they are. But then we have a chance in every game we play against them. It’s a good feeling that we can go into the games like this.”
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