"It's good that Botic has already played against him, he has that experience in his backpack" - Botic van de Zandschulp's coach Peter Lucassen on the Wimbledon fourth round match against Rafael Nadal
![Botic van de Zandschulp's coach shares his thoughts on the upcoming clash between Nadal and the Dutchman. [PC: Instagram/Peter Lucassen]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/07/be559-16568411348867-1920.jpg?w=500)
22-time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal is through to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the tenth time in his career. He took some time to settle on the grass with hard-fought wins over Francisco Cerundolo and Ricardas Berankis, but was at his best against Lorenzo Sonego in the third round, engineering a commanding straight-sets win over the Italian.
Nadal will square off against Botic van de Zandschulp in their last 16 clash at Wimbledon, which is their second meeting in just over a month. The 36-year-old beat the Dutchman in the third round at Roland Gaross.
Speaking to Dutch newsline AD sport, van de Zandschulp's coach Peter Lucassen shared his thoughts on the upcoming fourth round clash at Wimbledon.
"It's good to see Nadal has had some difficult matches here in London than in Paris, and it's good that Botic has already played against him, he has that experience in his backpack," Peter Lucassen
He also reflected on how the 26-year-old showed character and strength to outfox Richard Gasquet in the third round.
He wasn't loose in the beginning and it took a little too long before he settled in. He also feels the weight of expectations and the tension, becuase he really wants to be clinical with his performances and fortunately he managed to fight through it. Overall Botic played a bit erratic but alternated good phases with better phases. Fortunately in the first set, Gasquet helped with those three double faults and in the end Botic finished well," said Peter Lucassen.
Into #Wimbledon's R16 for the first time 👏
@Boticvdz gets past Gasquet in four 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-1!
@Wimbledon | #wimbledon https://t.co/ROdQrKeZsA
For the first time in 20 years, two Dutchmen, Botic Van De Zandschulp and Tim van Rijthoven, are in the fourth round of Wimbledon
Former World No. 4 Richard Krajicek and two-time Rosmalen Grass Court Championship winner Sjeng Schalken were the last two Dutchmen to make the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2002. They were outclassed by Belgian Xavier Malise and former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in their respective matches.
The 2022 Rosmalen Grass Court Championship winner Tim van Rijthoven has had a miraculous run since making his debut on the ATP tour. The 25-year-old is unbeaten in eight matches and will lock horns against six-time Wimbledon champion and top seed Novak Djokovic in a highly anticipated last 16 clash. It will be interesting to see if he can pull off a huge upset and continue his run at SW19.
“We both play tennis and hit the same ball. Sure, I realize that when you look at my chances in percentage terms, it's more towards Novak. But I have opportunities. If I didn't see it, I wouldn't have to go out on the track," van Rijthoven said, on the prospect of facing Djokovic.
Eight is great 💫
Tim van Rijthoven's brilliant run continues, making it eight victories in a row after beating Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
#Wimbledon https://t.co/Fn1otK8YH6
Botic van de Zanschulp was also over the moon on making it to the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career.
"I am very happy to be in the fourth round of this great event. Compared to last year, expectations are a bit higher for me now, sometimes it's hard, but i enjoy it and I'm still learning more about how to play on grass every game as this is only my second year playing on it," Botic van de Zandschulp said.
The two Dutch pros will be up against the top two seeds, who are also the heavy favorites to win the grass Major. All eyes will be on them to see if they can cause an upset and shock tennis fans around the world.
van Rijthoven will take on Djokovic on Sunday while van de Zandschulp locks horns with Nadal on Monday at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.