RAFAEL NADAL BEAT BOTIC VAN DE ZANDSCHULP TO MOVE INTO ROUND 4 OF THE FRENCH OPEN- ‘I THINK IT WAS MY BEST MATCH’.
Rafael Nadal is having to nurse a chronic foot problem, but there have been no signs of distress in the opening week of the French Open – and he produced an impressive performance to take care of big-hitting Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. Nadal is going in search of an incredible 14th title at Roland-Garros in 2022. Stream the 2022 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.
Rafael Nadal delivered a statement performance to breeze past Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3 6-2 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the French Open.
There were some whispered suggestions that the big-hitting Van de Zandschulp could cause problems for Nadal, but those theories were blown out of the water as the Spaniard produced his most impressive display of the tournament so far.
Although during his wins over Jordan Thompson and Corentin Moutet, Nadal’s weight of shot was up – there were times when his length was short and radar slightly awry. Those wrinkles were ironed out against Van de Zandschulp as he dominated his opponent in all departments – and secured victory in two hours and 11 minutes.
Given the chronic foot complaint Nadal is managing, rapid victories could be crucial later in the event.
Nadal felt it was his best performance of the French Open so far.
“It was a pleasure to play on Suzanne-Lenglen in front of an incredible crowd,” Nadal said. “Botic played really well, credit to him.
“I am happy to be through in straight sets. I think it was my best match of the tournament so far for two sets and a half.”
Victory over Van de Zandschulp was the 301st of his career in Grand Slams, and Nadal joked that it showed his age.
“It shows two things when you achieve these numbers,” Nadal said. “The first one is you are very old.
“The second is that I have had a great career. I am happy with how things have happened in my tennis career.
“I have had tough moments with injuries, but I have enjoyed great experiences in my life because of tennis.
“I feel fortunate to be able to enjoy a lot of things that I could never dream about.”
Van de Zandschulp broke in the opening game, to pique the interest of those who said he could be a problem for Nadal, but he threw in some wild groundstrokes in the following game and handed back the break.
The Dutchman’s power is a weapon and also a handicap, because as well as the wild shots it also handed his opponent pace to feed off. In the fifth game, a Van de Zandschulp thunderbolt was returned with interest and one game later Nadal secured a second break to take control of the set.
After the blip of the opening game, normal service was resumed as Nadal wrapped up the opening set in 35 minutes.
Van de Zandschulp continued with his gameplan of playing attacking tennis in the second set in a bid to rattle Nadal. It had no impact, as he coughed up seven unforced errors and allowed the 21-time Grand Slam champion to absorb and use his power – and Nadal showed power of his own by wrapping up the second set with an ace.
The No. 26 seed did not throw in the towel, but he was a spent force in the third set and two rapid breaks of serve set Nadal on the way to a comfortable win – albeit Van de Zandschulp did make the Spaniard work in the later stages – and a meeting with Felix Auger-Aliassime in round four.
