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World No. 29 Botic van de Zandschulp revealed he was a Rafael Nadal fan when he was younger and added he also loved to watch Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. Van de Zandschulp, 26, turned pro in 2013 and played Nadal for the first time in his career this week at the French Open.
On Friday, van de Zandschulp was beaten by Nadal in the French Open third round. "I was a fan of [Rafael] Nadal when younger, but he hasn’t played many of the same tournaments as me yet. I haven’t met any of my idols from when I was younger.
I looked up to [Andre] Agassi, I liked him a lot. [Andy] Roddick I liked a lot, but I am yet to meet them, so hopefully my time will come," van de Zandschulp told the ATP website before the Nadal match.
Van de Zandschulp once missed a flight
In his nine years as a pro, van de Zandschulp just once missed a flight.
I think I missed a flight five years ago. I was going from Holland to Estonia. I had to drive to Germany because that was the only plane going to Tallinn and then there was a car crash on the way. I was going to a tournament.
I give myself some time to get to the airport. I am currently living 10 minutes from the airport in Amsterdam. I normally arrive about one hour, 45 minutes before and in Amsterdam you can walk straight to the gate in about 10 minutes, but I leave early," van de Zandschulp revealed.
Meanwhile, van de Zandschulp is enjoying the best days of his career. Van de Zandschulp, who is currently enjoying his career-high ranking, recently fell just short of winning his first ATP title. In Munich, van de Zandschulp was forced to retire to Holger Rune in the final.