Second seed Botic van de Zandschulp faces Germany’s Maximilian Marterer in the quarterfinals of the Tata Maharashtra Open on Thursday.
The Dutchman is one of the players to watch out for in this tournament. The 27-year-old got the new season off to a solid start as he went past Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the round of 16 after receiving a first-round bye.
The Dutch No. 1 had to fight hard to win the first set against the Italian tennis pro. In the second set, Botic van de Zandschulp played better and eventually won the match 7-5, 6-4. We know that he has the ability to play much better but there’s no need to read too much into this performance as he just played his first match of the tournament.
The German qualifier has had a fine campaign so far. Marterer has already defeated two opponents who were ranked above him in the ATP rankings. He will feel that defeating Botic van de Zandschulp won’t be a bridge too far but for that to happen, he will have to play almost error-free tennis.
The 27-year-old defeated Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Nikola Milojevic in the qualifiers to progress to the main draw. In the round of 32, Marterer defeated Elias Ymer in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Marterer went on to defeat Laslo Djere in the round of 16 in straight sets 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. In the two main-draw matches, Marterer has fired in 23 aces.
The head-to-head scoreline on the ATP Tour currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have not faced each other as yet. However, they have met each other once in the Challenger circuit. In the Challenger event in Koblenz, the Dutch star defeated Marterer in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.
Prediction: Botic van de Zandschulp to win in straight sets.
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