Botic van de Zandschulp justified his favorite’s status with a straight-sets victory over qualifier Luka Pavlovic, but not without facing moments of pressure in an entertaining first-round match at the Rotterdam ATP 500.
First Set: Tie-Break Decides a Tight Battle
Luka Pavlovic, a French player of Serbian origin, reached the main draw after two strong qualifying matches, relying heavily on his powerful serve — a weapon that had already saved him a match point against Hamad Medjedovic in qualifying.
Facing the home favorite Van de Zandschulp, ranked No. 65 in the ATP rankings, Pavlovic started the match cautiously. He ran into trouble early, as Van de Zandschulp broke serve in the second game. Pavlovic gradually found his rhythm and earned a break back in the sixth game, beginning to serve with increasing confidence.
At 5–5, Van de Zandschulp applied pressure again, earning two break points on Pavlovic’s serve, but the Frenchman escaped with a series of aces to hold for 6–5. The Dutchman then held comfortably to force a tie-break.
Van de Zandschulp struck first with the opening mini-break, but Pavlovic responded strongly, claiming two mini-breaks of his own to take a 4–2 lead and raise hopes of an upset. The experienced Dutchman, however, remained composed, winning three consecutive mini-breaks to turn the tie-break around and claim the set 7–5.
Second Set: Van de Zandschulp Maintains Control
The second set followed a similar pattern early on. Van de Zandschulp was again the first to break, moving ahead 2–0. Pavlovic immediately responded with a break back, but the Dutchman quickly regained control, breaking once more to lead 3–1 before consolidating for a 4–1 advantage.
From that point on, Van de Zandschulp stayed solid on serve and managed the match efficiently, denying Pavlovic further opportunities to get back into contention.
Match Statistics Tell the Story
Van de Zandschulp closed out the match in straight sets, winning 7–6, 6–3, and advancing to the next round in front of an appreciative home crowd.
The statistics highlighted how fine the margins were. Pavlovic recorded more aces (8 to 6), but Van de Zandschulp was far more consistent, committing just one double fault compared to Pavlovic’s six. In winners, the difference was minimal (19 to 18 in favor of the Dutchman), but unforced errors proved decisive — 37 for Pavlovic against 24 for Van de Zandschulp.
The Rotterdam crowd responded with warm applause as their local player sealed the victory.
To see how this result fits into the overall first-round picture in Rotterdam, check out the complete main draw