Butch van de Zandschul was unable to produce a surprise against Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Astana ATP Tour. The best tennis player in the Netherlands lost 6-3, 6-1 to the world number 7 in the indoor tournament in Kazakhstan.
It was the first time that 27-year-old Van de Zandschulp had played against the 21-time Grand Slam champion. The number 34 in the world has already played against Rafael Nadal twice. He lost last year to the Spaniard at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and won 22 Grand Slam titles.
The 35-year-old, who does not manage a full season, has not lost since Roland Garros. He has since won Wimbledon and took the title in Tel Aviv last week without dropping a set. The former No. 1 in the world has been missing in the United States in recent months, because it hasn’t been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Djokovic was enough against Van de Zandschulp in a break in the sixth game to win the first set. The Serb comfortably led 4-1 in the second set, before Van de Zandschulp struggled for a while. However, after Djokovic passed a stopping point, he won the match.
