Dutch Delight As Botic, Griekspoor Reach Pune SFs

Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor made Dutch tennis history on Thursday at the Tata Open Maharashtra as both men progressed to the semi-finals in Pune. They became the first Dutch duo to reach the semi-finals of the same ATP Tour event since Dennis Van Scheppingen and Martin Verkerk at Amersfoort in 2004.

“It’s been a long time,” van de Zandschulp said of the achievement. “I cannot remember how long it’s been, but it’s pretty nice for the country.”

Van de Zandschulp has yet to drop a set in his Pune debut, having beaten Flavio Cobolli 7-5, 6-4 in his first match. After facing six break points in that contest, the World No. 35 did not face any against Marterer as he won 85 per cent of his first-serve points.

“I served well. It’s always helping when you serve well and you get a lot of free points,” he assessed, later adding that he enjoyed the slower, flatter evening conditions compared to his daytime Wednesday match. “[I was] really consistent, more consistent that the last match, so I’m happy with that.”

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The 27-year-old will seek his second tour-level final (Munich 2022) when he takes on Benjamin Bonzi — a 7-6(5), 6-4 winner against sixth seed Filip Krajinovic — in Friday’s semi-finals. Van de Zandschulp reached three semis last season but is still in search of his first ATP Tour crown.

Eighth seed Aslan Karatsev also advanced on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Spain’s Pedro Martinez. Karatsev has won all six sets he’s played this week and will seek to continue that streak against Griekspoor in the semis.