The Dutch Davis Cup team almost choked in Switzerland, but in the end the Dutch tennis players prevailed in the exciting Martini Plaza: 3-2
The revelations of Leandro Redi and Marc-Andrea Hausler pushed the Dutch team over the edge, but they eventually had to acknowledge their superiority at Talon Grekboer and Boutique van de Zandschulp respectively. The Netherlands qualified for the last 16 of the Davis Cup thanks to the win.
Team captain Paul Haarhuis looked visibly relieved after clearing all the smoke in the steamy Groningen hall. After the winning point, Van de Zandschulp threw his racket into his bag, exhausted and tired, and victory was bound to come from afar, as it turned out.
Reddy impresses
On paper, it seemed like there would be no problem, and the low-ranking Swiss would be thrown outside the city walls of Groningen with Gruyère cheese and feathers. “But in the Davis Cup anything can happen,” warned captain Haarhuis ahead of the two-day encounter in MartiniPlaza. Nothing turned out to be further from the truth. Reddy in particular made a big impression. On Friday he defeated Van de Zandschulp, on Saturday the Swiss bumped the Dutch duo off the track and then the Greek Spor were forced to do everything in their power to bring the Netherlands along and thus force a fifth match.
“There is nothing to gain here”
“We managed to beat them,” said 35-year-old doubles player Wesley Kohlhoff. “Everything went quickly. Serve and return.” Reddy and Hausler served and returned better. So it was no surprise that the Swiss duo won the tiebreak to give Switzerland a 2-1 lead. Immediately after winning the double, the world number 385 was able to get back to work. Now in singles against Greek Spur. The 29th in the world rankings had to do everything in his power to beat Reddy. “We will definitely see this boy in the top 100,” said the tennis professional from New Fenip. “I told him, with our audience, that There is nothing to be gained here.”
“Boutique silenced 3,500 Groningen residents”
This turned out to be the case in the end, although it took a lot of effort from Van de Zandschulp in particular. “This really had to come from afar,” said a relieved Van de Zandschulp. “And what an atmosphere. “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed,” Greik Bohr complimented the Groningen audience. “Botic (Van de Zandschulp, ed.) should have used the audience more. He even managed to silence 3,500 of his supporters on Friday. This was by no means the case on Saturday. Supported by more than 3,000 enthusiastic Groningen residents, Van de Zandschulp battled to victory over Hausler, who is ranked 199th on the ATP list.
With the help of a rabid crowd
The tennis player from Veenendaal lost the first set, but won the fifth tiebreak of the day to level the match. In the third set Van de Zandschulp took the lead and never relinquished it. With his victory in the tiebreaker, it seemed as if the burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He broke the Swiss's serve twice and won the third and decisive set 6-3. With the help of a rabid crowd, a cheering Dutch bench, and Haarhuis' intense training, the Dutchman was able to win the final match, so that the Haarhuis immediately qualified for the finals in September of this year. Haarhaus thanked the audience profusely: “That's why we wanted to go to Groningen again. Although it took more effort this year, what a wonderful audience.”
Wesley Kohlhoff: “It will be late in MartiniPlaza”
“It's really nice to be up north again,” smiled a disappointed Wesley Kohlhoff after losing the doubles match. “One day my grandmother will be in the stands and then we will lose.” Kohlhoff is the eldest son of Juri Kohlhoff, a former professional footballer for Veendam, Groningen and Eindhoven, among others, who plays for THOS (Tot Heil Unsee Spieren) from Bertha. I started playing football. “My grandmother still lives there, in my parents’ house,” the tennis pro said. “No, I don't think I'll be going to Berta's tonight. It must be late here in Martiniplaza.”
Kohlhoff is in his final season and will probably please his grandmother. “Grandma hopes I can visit her more often now,” Kohlhoff laughed. His doubles partner Roger, who is seven years his senior, isn't stopping anytime soon: “I'll keep going for another year. Now that Wes is retiring, I have one less competitor. “Then I can finally win the Australian Open.” Kohlhoff had to laugh at That, but he was clearly disappointed by the loss: “Really disappointed. But we might have tired Reedy so much that Talon could easily overpower him.”
