Botic van de Zandschulp spoiled Joao Fonseca’s first appearance as a seed on the ATP Tour on Tuesday with a 7-5, 7-6(2) victory at the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open.
The Dutchman recovered from a break deficit in each set to beat Fonseca by 32 winners to 22 on his way to breaking his five-match losing streak at tour level. Van de Zandschulp also won 88 percent (42/48) of first-serve points during his two-hour, two-minute victory, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“I played a very good match, I served incredibly well and came back at certain times,” said Van de Zandschulp. “The key for me to win this competition was: [in] a lot of the important points, to keep my focus.”
Van de Zandschulp had not won a match since reaching the Winston-Salem final in August. The world number 86, who competes with a new coach in his box this week, will next face American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri, who earlier eased past Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-1.
“We started this week. We have had a number of practice weeks, but this is the first tournament together,” Van de Zandschulp said about his coach. “A lot of fun… This year has been different, but this week I’m really enjoying it, so that’s good.”
In other action on Day 2 in Brussels, Belgian qualifier Gilles Arnaud Bailly claimed his first ATP Tour victory with a thrilling 6-4, 6-7(10), 6-3 defeat of Daniel Altmaier. With his win, the 20-year-old climbed five places to 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and could rise to eighth if he beats third seed and last year’s finalist Jiri Lehecka in the second round.
Belgian brilliance in Brussels???
[Q] Bailly secures his first ever ATP Tour victory 6-4 6-7(10) 6-3 ? Altmaier@BNPPFEUOpen | #BNPFEuropeanOpen pic.twitter.com/xSaEb4qqoF
— ATP tour (@atptour) October 14, 2025
Wild card Raphael Collignon secured his first win on home soil by beating compatriot and eighth seed Zizou Bergs 6-4, 7-6(5) in a lively all-Belgian battle. The 23-year-old has risen seven places to No. 83 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, two places away from his career No. 81.
Watch how Collignon upset compatriot Bergs:
Collignon, who reached the third round at this year’s US Open, will next face Francisco Comesana after the Argentine eased past home hope and 2016 semi-finalist David Goffin 7-6(5), 6-4.
The French duo Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Valentin Royer also advanced to the second round on Tuesday. Mpetshi Perricard outlasted Emil Ruusuvuori 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-4 to improve to 3-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, while lucky loser Royer defeated Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-3.
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