Van de Zandschulp arrived in China on the back of a three-match losing streak, going back to the final of Winston-Salem, where Marton Fucsovics was crowned champion.
In Chengdu, Van de Zandschulp was drawn against qualifier MacKenzie McDonald, the 98th-ranked player. McDonald gave nothing away and dealt the first blow of the match, breaking Van de Zandschulp to go up 3-2 and grab a lead he would not relinquish for the rest of the first set.
Van de Zandschulp dialled up the pressure in the second set, winning two games on love early before breaking McDonald in the sixth game. The Dutchman capped a strong second set off with a third love game, forcing a deciding third set in Chengdu.
His American opponent quickly took control over the third set with a break in Van de Zandschulp's first service game. McDonald continued to pile up the pressure early and earned two break points while carrying a 3-0 lead, which Van de Zandschulp both fended off.
A late second break all but swung the set in McDonald's direction, ruling Van de Zandschulp's rebreak redundant and taking the set on his fourth match point.
McDonald secured his spot in the second round of the ATP 250 tournament, in which he will face Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
