One of the biggest surprises at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open was Novak Djokovic’s early exit at the hands of Botic van de Zandschulp, who defeated him 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the second round. However, this isn’t the first time the Dutchman has beaten a Top 10 player, as he has also defeated Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in recent matches.
Van de Zandschulp was, in fact, the player who ended Nadal’s career, beating him in his final match during last year’s Davis Cup Finals. Before that, the World No. 85 stunned Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open.
As he continues to build a reputation for upsetting top-ranked players, he was asked which of these victories was the toughest. “Yeah, I think they’re all different,” the 29-year-old told reporters in his press conference.
“I think Rafa’s last match was mentally quite tough, especially playing in Spain. So, yeah, that’s never easy. But I think Carlos was maybe the toughest one. Because beforehand, you didn’t really know you had the possibility to beat guys who are, yeah, running the game these days,” he explained.
His win over Alcaraz, which ended the Spaniard’s 15-match Grand Slam winning streak, was also his first victory over a Top 3 player. Additionally, he became the first Dutchman to defeat a Top 3 player at the US Open since 1991, when Paul Haarhuis upset top seed and World No. 1 Boris Becker.
So far, Van de Zandschulp has recorded eight career wins over Top 10 players. He has also beaten Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud (twice), Cameron Norrie, and Taylor Fritz.
Van de Zandschulp’s Career Highlights
Van de Zandschulp’s breakthrough came at the 2021 US Open when he became only the third qualifier in tournament history to reach the quarterfinals (after Nicolas Escudé in 1999 and Gilles Müller in 2008), with wins over seeded players Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman.
He was also just the third player to qualify for the main draw of all four Grand Slams in a single season, following Elias Ymer in 2015 and Frank Dancevic in 2011. However, he hasn’t won any titles so far.
Despite his victory over Djokovic, Van de Zandschulp was unable to advance past the third round at Indian Wells, falling to Francisco Cerúndolo.