Botic van de Zandschulp Survives Epic Five-Set Match to Reach US Open Quarterfinals
Botic van de Zandschulp walked off court in New York looking less like a winner and more like a survivor. Five hours and 13 minutes on court, two sets down, a match point saved, and somehow the Dutchman is back in the US Open quarterfinals.
On a humid, punishing day in the USA, the 30-year-old clawed past Frenchman Arthur Gea in one of the wildest marathons of this year’s tournament, 3:6, 6:7 (0), 7:6 (7), 7:6 (3), 6:4. The contest became the fourth-longest match in US Open history, a statistic that barely captures how close van de Zandschulp came to the exit.
From the brink to the last eight
For two sets, Gea owned the match. He took the opener 6:3, then froze van de Zandschulp out of the second-set tiebreak, racing through it 7–0. The Dutchman looked flat, Gea looked fearless, and the scoreboard told a brutal story.
The turning point came in the third-set tiebreak. Gea earned a match point and stood one clean strike away from the biggest win of his career. Van de Zandschulp refused to fold. He saved it, stole the breaker 9–7, and with it, the entire momentum of the afternoon.
From there, the match became a test of nerve. The fourth set followed the same tight pattern, both men holding serve under heavy pressure until van de Zandschulp again edged the tiebreak, this time 7–3. A two-set deficit had vanished. Gea, who had been swinging freely, suddenly carried the weight of what might have been.
By the decider, the Dutchman’s experience told. He tightened his patterns, protected his serve, and pounced when the Frenchman’s level finally dipped. A single break was enough, and at 6:4 in the fifth, van de Zandschulp completed a comeback that will sit beside any of his career highlights.
This run marks his second appearance in a US Open quarterfinal, following his breakthrough in 2021. Earlier in the tournament, he had already shown sharp form by knocking out Australian Alex de Minaur in the second round. Now, after this escape, he looks battle-hardened for whatever comes next.
Gea’s near-history as a lucky loser
For Gea, the defeat will sting for a long time. He arrived in the main draw as a lucky loser, drafted in after 2022 US Open finalist Casper Ruud withdrew with a back injury. From that late call-up, he came within a single point of rewriting Grand Slam history.
Had he converted his match point in the third-set tiebreak, the Frenchman would have become the first lucky loser ever to reach the quarterfinals of a men’s singles Grand Slam. Instead, he leaves with a painful reminder of how thin the margins are at this level—and with the knowledge that he pushed a seasoned campaigner to the edge in one of the tournament’s epic battles.
Blockx breaks new ground, Khachanov digs deep
The men’s quarterfinal lineup continued to take shape elsewhere in the draw.
Belgian 28th seed Alexander Blockx produced a landmark win, beating 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6:3, 4:6, 7:5, 7:5. The tight, nervy third and fourth sets underlined the stakes; Blockx held firm in the key moments and, with that, became the first Belgian player ever to reach the US Open quarterfinals. A slice of national history carved out in straight-backed, uncompromising fashion.
Karen Khachanov had to go the distance as well. The 14th seed was dragged into a five-set scrap by American Learner Tien before prevailing 7:5, 4:6, 6:7 (6), 6:1, 6:4. After losing that third-set breaker, Khachanov hit back with a ruthless fourth set, then kept his composure in the fifth to silence the home crowd and book his place in the last eight.
Khachanov and Blockx now face each other for a spot in the semifinals—a clash between an established powerhouse and a history-making Belgian.
On the other side of the draw, van de Zandschulp arrives in the quarterfinals having already stared down elimination for more than five hours. The question now is simple: after surviving one of the longest matches in US Open history, how far can he ride this escape?
