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Carlos Alcaraz avenges Nadal in his Rotterdam Open debut

Alcaraz defeats Botic van de Zandschulp at Rotterdam Open, but suffers much more than expected.

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Carlos Alcaraz has returned to the tennis courts after his defeat in Australia against Djokovic, making his debut in the ATP 500 Tour in Rotterdam. In front of him, there was the local player Botic van de Zandschulp, a name that neither Alcaraz nor many Spaniards will forget, as he was the final professional rival of Rafa Nadal, who defeated him in the Davis Cup last November, in a bitter goodbye for the tennis giant.

On Tuesday, Alcaraz got his revenge but not without struggles: the match lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes and ended 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-1, with the 21-year old Spaniard acknowledging that his rival was more consistent than him. "Being set point down in the first set, I think Botic played a really solid match. Not too many ups and downs for him, really consistent throughout the match. I'm just really happy to get through. I had to be really focused in the tough moments, to keep pushing and trust the good tennis will come again".

Alcaraz has now defeated the Dutch player three times. Botic, ranked 84 and who entered the tournament as wild card, has never won an ATP Tour. Van de Zandschulp only defeated him once in singles, in the second round of the 2024 US Open, a huge upset last year, so Alcaraz takes a double revenge: for Nadal and for himself.

However, Alcaraz, who admits he is not at his 100% and has a cold (he wore a tape on his nose to breathe better, an image Alcaraz fans have seen before), doesn't have good prospects in this kind of indoor competition: he has never made it any further than the semi-finals in any of the nine indoor tournaments he has played.

Carlos Alcaraz avenges Nadal in his Rotterdam Open debut
ABN AMRO Open

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