Upsets abound at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open, and Dutchmen are responsible for the two biggest ones.
A little more than 24 hours after Tallon Griekspoor ousted No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev, Botic van de Zandschulp followed suit with a second-round surprise of his own. Van de Zandschulp sent Novak Djokovic packing from the Indian Wells Masters with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory on Saturday afternoon. The world No. 85 prevailed in two hours and one minute.
Van de Zandschulp’s run is all the more improbable since he might as well have been packing his own bags much earlier in the week. The 29-year-old appeared to be on his way out of the tournament when he lost in qualifying on Tuesday, but he ended up getting a lucky-loser spot in the main draw.
Although Van de Zandschulp may be lucky, he is also good–especially over the past seven months against some legends of the sport. During this stretch, the former world No. 22 has beaten Carlos Alcaraz (2024 U.S. Open), Rafael Nadal (2024 Davis Cup Finals), and now Djokovic.
“You may have to ask those guys,” Van de Zandschulp responded when asked about his ability to get the best of those kinds of opponents. “I don’t know. I think beforehand, if I play those guys, I know I have to be there the whole match–to be mentally stable, be calm.
“I think I played pretty well in the rallies. I can defend. I can also attack. Go to the net. So, yeah, I think I have a [lot of] variety in my game–so maybe that’s what is bothering them.”
A lot has been bothering Djokovic so far this season. The 37-year-old Serb retired from his Australian Open semifinal match against Zverev due to a hamstring injury and has not won a match since. He also lost right away in Dubai at the hands of Matteo Berrettini.
“[There’s] always something happening, but I don’t want to talk about it,” Djokovic said. “I mean, obviously (there are) no excuses for a poor performance. (It) just it doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court. But congratulations to my opponent…. He played, I think, some really good points to break my serve. But, yeah, just putting myself in that position…I shouldn’t allow myself to do that.”
nice one, Botic
is Novak still in denial about the fact that he’s over the hill?
Why would he deny that at his age.He’s also lost motivation after all he’s won .