It was a successful week for the national team in Rotterdam, with Dutchmen Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor in residence. Will successive comparisons with Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime mark the end of the road?
(1) Alex de Minaur vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
De Minaur and Van de Zandschulp will face each other for the fourth time in their careers when they meet in the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO Open on Friday. All three of their previous meetings have gone De Minaur’s way; 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the 2022 Davis Cup final, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the 2025 Australian Open, and 6-4, 6-4 a few weeks later in Doha.
This may be Van de Zandschulp’s home tournament, but De Minaur wins in Rotterdam. The eighth-ranked Aussie has finished second in each of the past two stages and could make another final appearance following straight-sets wins over Arthur Fils and Stan Wawrinka. Van de Zandschulp advanced with straight-sets defeats to Luka Pavlovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Although the 65th-ranked Dutch player is playing well, he has never reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam and this has been a struggle for him.
Pick: De Minaur at 2
(7) Tallon Griekspoor vs. (2) Felix Auger-Aliassime
It can be hard to choose or anyone beating Auger-Aliassime in a strong indoor field these days without Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The sixth-ranked Canadian’s ATP title last week in Montpellier was his eighth indoors, and he extended his winning streak to six matches with Rotterdam victories over Alexei Popyrin and Hamad Medjedovic. Auger-Aliassime’s swing in the fall of 2025 featured a win in Brussels, a runner-up finish in Paris, and a semifinal showing at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Next up for the second seed on Friday is the third meeting with Griekspoor. The head-to-head series is tied 1-1 on the grand tour, with Auger-Aliassime winning 7-6(2), 7-6(5) on the grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2022 before Griekspoor won 6-4, 6-4 on the grass in Mallorca this past summer. The 27th-ranked Dutchman performed well against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Quentin Halys, but was a dreadful 1-5 this year before arriving in Rotterdam. Asking Griekspoor to suddenly beat one of the best players in the world – especially indoors – is probably too much.
Select: Auger-Aliassime in 2
