Botic van de Zandschulp has secured a place in the second round of Roland Garros. The best tennis player in the Netherlands got rid of Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov in the opening round in four sets: 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2.
The Dutchman finished on runway 12 after 2 hours and 37 minutes on his own service. He only used his fourth match point, with a smash.
The 26-year-old Van de Zandschulp, who has moved up to place 29 in the world ranking, has a seeded status at a grand slam tournament for the first time in his career. In the second round, he will face the winner of the duel between Italian Fabio Fognini and Alexei Popyrin from Australia. If he wins that game, he may face Rafael Nadal.
Last year, Van de Zandschulp also reached the second round in Paris, then as a qualifier.
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