AP
NOS Sports•
Dutch tennis players can show how far they have progressed during the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals. In any case, Orange is very excited to take on the role of the underdog in Glasgow this week.
This is not surprising when the two opponents are called Kazakhstan (Tuesday), especially Great Britain (Friday) and the United States (Saturday). The last two countries have the best players with a lot of experience (Grand Slams).
The Orange team has not yet had this routine in the singles, but with Botic van de Zandschulp (world No. 35), Tallon groenpoor (48) and Tim van Rijthoven (107), Dutch men’s tennis is once again good.
Add to that the fact that doubles specialist Wesley Koolhoff, who lost the US Open final last weekend, and Mattoy Middelkoop have been at the top of the world for years, and the conclusion that something can be expected from Captain Paul Harhuis’ team one is justified.
the best two
The Netherlands should try to rank among the top two countries in its group. “We are certainly not the candidates to continue. Those are the United States and Great Britain,” says Harhees. “But I have a strong belief that we can continue and that we will. That is our goal.”
The orange team last reached the Davis Cup quarter-finals in 2005, which was still playing the old-fashioned way with one home or away game per round.
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Van de Zandschulp will be an important asset to Orange. De Veenendaler is a well-known specialist in the hard court, the surface on which the Davis Cup Finals are held.
He said he needed time to recover from the hard weeks in the United States. The long run and disappointing results ensured that Van de Zandschulp was no longer a newbie during the US Open. He lost in New York in the second round.
Then the best tennis player in the Netherlands took a few days off. For example, Van de Zandschulp went to the Go Ahead Eagles-Feyenoord football match and spent time with family and friends.
“I’m comfortable in my own skin now,” said Van de Zandschulp. “It might be weird to say that after the US Open, but I think those days were good. I haven’t thought about tennis for a while.”
He now wants to reach the quarter-finals of the country’s championship with Orange. “We must hope that we will secretly win over the United States or Great Britain. Victory over Kazakhstan would in any case be a good start.”
Watch interviews with Botic van de Zandschulp and Tim van Rijthoven in the spin-off below:
In any case, Orange doesn’t have to factor in Frances Tiafoe against the USA on Saturday. The semi-finalist pulled out of the US Open for the US national team tournament in Glasgow.
