Van de Zandschulp snaps skid with resilient win in Brussels
Botic van de Zandschulp turned the tide on a nagging losing streak, rallying twice under a new coach’s watchful eye to spoil Joao Fonseca’s seeded debut and spark hope on the hard courts of the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open.
In the humming indoor arena of the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open, Botic van de Zandschulp stepped onto the court carrying the shadow of five straight tour-level defeats, his last victory a distant memory from the Winston-Salem final in August. Facing Joao Fonseca, the young Brazilian making his first appearance as a seeded player, the Dutchman absorbed an early break in the opening set, the crowd’s murmurs amplifying the tension as Fonseca’s inside-out forehands carved through the baseline. Yet van de Zandschulp steadied his nerves, firing 32 winners to his opponent’s 22 and claiming 88 percent of his first-serve points—42 out of 48—over a taut two-hour, two-minute struggle that ended 7-5, 7-6(2).
Rallying from deficits sharpens focus
The first set unfolded like a chess match on the swift hard courts, where Fonseca’s aggressive returns forced van de Zandschulp into defensive crosscourt exchanges early on. Down a break at 3-2, the World No. 86 regrouped with deeper serves that pinned the Brazilian back, setting up one–two combinations of forehand approaches followed by down-the-line backhands to erase the deficit and seize the lead at 5-4. This tactical pivot not only neutralized Fonseca’s power but turned the momentum, as the Dutchman’s slice returns began drawing errors in prolonged rallies, a pattern that repeated in the second set after another slip at 2-1.
In the tiebreak, van de Zandschulp‘s poise shone through, stepping inside the baseline to take time away from Fonseca‘s second serves and unleashing inside-in forehands that clipped the lines. The surface’s low bounce favored his flatter strokes, allowing him to outmaneuver the younger player’s higher spins and secure the points that mattered most amid the arena’s rising energy.
“I played a really good match, I served unbelievably well, also returning in certain moments,” said Van de Zandschulp. “The key for me to win this match was, [in] a lot of the important points, to keep my focus.”
New coach fuels season’s turnaround
Teaming up with a new coach for their debut tournament after several practice weeks, van de Zandschulp found a renewed rhythm that eased the mental strain of a challenging year. The partnership brought sharper adjustments to his return positioning, evident in how he disrupted Fonseca’s serve with varied depths and angles, transforming potential breaks against him into opportunities. This victory, his first since August, positions him to build momentum against American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri, who earlier dispatched Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-1 with steady baseline play.
Van de Zandschulp spoke of the invigorating change, noting how it allowed him to embrace the week’s hard-court tempo without the weight of recent setbacks. A win over Spizzirri could nudge him toward the top 80 in the rankings, extending this fresh dynamic if he sustains the serve’s reliability and return aggression.
“We started this week. We had some practice weeks, but this is the first tournament together,” Van de Zandschulp said of his coach. “Enjoying a lot… It’s been different this year, but this week I’m enjoying it a lot, so it’s good.”
Belgian qualifiers ignite home crowd
Day two in Brussels crackled with local fervor as qualifier Gilles Arnaud Bailly claimed his maiden ATP Tour win, rallying for a 6-4, 6-7(10), 6-3 upset over Daniel Altmaier in a match that blended baseline grit with timely net forays. The 20-year-old’s resilience surged him five spots to 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, with a chance to climb to eighth against third seed and last year’s finalist Jiri Lehecka, where his underspin backhands could exploit any fatigue on the unforgiving surface.
Belgian brillance in Brussels 🇧🇪
[Q] Bailly secures his first ever ATP Tour victory 6-4 6-7(10) 6-3 Altmaier@BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPPFEuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/xSaEb4qqoF— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 14, 2025
Wild card Raphael Collignon amplified the excitement, edging countryman and eighth seed Zizou Bergs 6-4, 7-6(5) in a lively all-Belgian duel that highlighted his improving footwork on home soil. Now at No. 83 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, two shy of his career-high 81 and fresh from a third-round run at this year’s US Open, he faces Francisco Comesana next after the Argentine outlasted home hope and 2016 semi-finalist David Goffin 7-6(5), 6-4 with deep crosscourt returns.
The French duo of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Valentin Royer also advanced, Mpetshi Perricard grinding out a 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-4 win over Emil Ruusuvuori to maintain his 3-0 head-to-head edge through booming serves and inside-in forehands that weathered the tiebreak swings. Lucky loser Royer dispatched Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-3, his efficient groundstrokes and aggressive approaches underscoring a day of underdog triumphs. These results on October 14, 2025, signal a tournament buzzing with tactical evolutions, where van de Zandschulp’s resurgence could inspire deeper runs amid the Belgian lights.
