De Minaur Reaches Third Consecutive Rotterdam Semifinal

Alex de Minaur continued to battle through the ABN Amro in Rotterdam, the Aussie pushing past hometown favorite Botic van de Zandschulp to reach his third consecutive semifinal at the ATP 500 event.

De Minaur, the first player to reach three consecutive semifinals in Rotterdam since Dutch legend Tom Okker in 1976, topped Van de Zandschulp 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 to set a semifinal clash with Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who defeated Christopher O’Connell 6-4, 6-1.

It was a tense affair for the top seed on Friday; he was up against it for much of the match against the 30-year-old World No. 65.

“He’s such a tough opponent and he makes it so difficult,” De Minaur said. “I think we both made each other play badly, in a sense. In these types of conditions where it’s hard to really hit through the court, you get some pretty long rallies and grueling exchanges. I’m happy I got through; it wasn’t looking too good for about three-quarters of the match, but I’m glad I managed to find some of my better tennis at the end of the second set.”

De Minaur needed two hours and 44 minutes to squeeze past the Dutchman, saving all three break points he faced in the second set before eventually taking it in a tiebreak.

Milestone & Historical Facts

• Semi-Final Streak: De Minaur is the first player to reach three consecutive semifinals in Rotterdam since Dutch legend Tom Okker did so exactly 50 years ago (1974–1976).
• H2H Dominance: With this victory, De Minaur improves to 4-0 in his career head-to-head against Botic van de Zandschulp.
• Indoor Hard Court Success: This win marks De Minaur’s 12th victory in his last 14 matches at the ATP 500 level.
• Rotterdam Consistency: Since 2024, De Minaur has a record of 11-2 at this tournament, with his only losses coming in the finals to Jannik Sinner (2024) and Carlos Alcaraz (2025).

After a trade of breaks through the first four games of the final set, De Minaur locked it down on serve and never faced a break point the rest of the way. He eventually broke for 6-5, then converted his second match point to secure his fourth victory in four career matches against Van de Zandschulp.

“It’s not easy feeling the ball out here,” De Minaur said of the conditions in Rotterdam, which have been criticized by many players due to the quality of the balls used. This has created slower conditions overall, forcing De Minaur to “win ugly” at times on Friday.

“It’s just about finding ways, adapting, and accepting that you are going to make more errors than you probably would like to,” he said. “It was about me finding better depth and direction—just waiting for the right ball and committing to it.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime will battle Tallon Griekspoor in the third men’s quarterfinal on Friday, with the winner facing either Jaume Munar or Alexander Bublik.