Second seed Botic van de Zandschulp faces Flavio Cobolli in the round of 16 of the Tata Maharashtra Open on Wednesday.
After being ousted in the doubles event, Botic van de Zandschulp will focus solely on the singles competition. The 27-year-old received a first-round bye and will be playing his first match of the new season against Flavio Cobolli. The Dutchman is one of the favorites to win the tournament and he would look to start off on a positive note.
Van de Zandschulp had a decent season in 2022. He made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon and also finished runner-up for the first time on the ATP Tour at the BMW Open. He also made his debut in the top 25 of the ATP rankings last year. Currently, the Dutch No. 1 is ranked 35th in the world.
The Italian youngster made it to the main draw of the tournament by downing a couple of opponents in the qualifiers. He began the campaign in Maharashtra with a convincing win in straight sets against local talent Aditya Vishal Balsekar. In the second qualifying match, Cobolli produced another solid display to get the better of Zdenek Kolar.
The 20-year-old faced Mukund Sasikumar in the round of 32. Cobolli, ranked No. 171, fought hard and ensured that the match did not roll into the third set. The encounter ended 6-4, 7-5 in favor of the Cobolli.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as Botic van de Zandschulp and Flavio Cobolli have never crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Botic van de Zandschulp to win in straight sets.
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