Van de Zandschulp Denies Gea Historic US Open Win

Arthur Gea came within a single point of becoming the first lucky loser to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final before losing a five-set marathon to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open on Monday. The Dutch player saved a match point in the third set to complete a 3-6, 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory at Flushing Meadows. The fourth-round match lasted five hours and 13 minutes, making it the fourth longest in tournament history.

Gea Falls Short of Grand Slam History

Gea, a 21-year-old French player, built a two-set lead and had an opportunity to seal victory during a third-set tie-break. Van de Zandschulp saved the match point to win the set 7-6 (9-7) and then broke back in the fourth set when Gea served for the match, eventually taking that set in another tie-break. In the deciding fifth set, Van de Zandschulp broke to complete the comeback. Speaking after the match, Van de Zandschulp remarked that he had “no clue” how he had managed to turn the contest around.

Path from Qualifying to the Last 16

Ranked 87th in the world, Gea missed out on automatic entry into the main draw when the tournament entry list was settled. Entering the qualifying tournament as the top seed, he lost in the final round to American Nishesh Basavareddy. However, he received a place in the main draw as a lucky loser following the late withdrawal of injured 2022 finalist Casper Ruud.

Gea made use of the opportunity by defeating Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo and American players Zachary Svajda and Michael Zheng to advance to the fourth round. By reaching the last 16, he became the 13th lucky loser in Grand Slam history to get that far. The run increased his tournament prize earnings to $480,000, compared to the $66,000 baseline payout for losing in qualifying.

Zverev and Other Quarter-Finalists Advance

Van de Zandschulp, ranked 70th, advances to face German top seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. Zverev moved into the last eight with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Italian 21st seed Luciano Darderi. The win was Zverev’s first match of this year’s tournament to finish before midnight, with his previous three rounds concluding at 1:55 am, 2:15 am, and 1:09 am.

In another fourth-round match, 21-year-old Belgian Alexander Blockx overcame physical pain to defeat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Blockx, seeded 28th, stated after the match that he was “really close” to retiring due to a rib issue. He is the first Belgian man to reach the US Open quarter-finals, where he is scheduled to play Russian 30-year-old Karen Khachanov. Khachanov, ranked 50th, defeated American 14th seed Learner Tien 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last eight.

Background

In Grand Slam tennis, a lucky loser is a player who loses in the final round of qualifying but enters the main draw to replace a player who withdraws before their first-round match due to injury or illness. No lucky loser in men’s singles tennis has ever progressed past the fourth round to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final.