Number 528 in the world Zizou Bergs celebrates first ATP match win: "I live for moments like this"
The Belgian Zizou Bergs caused a huge sensation at the ATP tournament in Antwerp on Tuesday. The number 528 in the world beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7: 5, 7: 5. The 21-year-old was ecstatic.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 21, 2020, 08:20 pm
"I love the emotions. I like to just let it out," said Bergs. "That's exactly why I play tennis, for such a mood. I live for these moments. I have great friends, a great family and I play at home."
Although his first-round opponent had played 459 more matches on the ATP tour, Bergs felt comfortable with his draw. He knew he would have to go offensive against Ramos-Vinolas.
So far he has never played a match on the ATP tour. He tried three times in the qualification in Antwerp, his opponents were Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Against the latter, he even had two match points before losing to the decisive set in the tie-break.
"I showed that I took the experience from the last appearances with me. I just kept fighting. Things went my way," said Bergs.
Bergs with self-confidence
The man from Lommel fended off two set balls in the second set, Ramos-Vinolas hit the set at 5: 4 from his point of view. The Belgian, who was once at number 386 in the world rankings, got the rebreak with a forehand winner and made the victory perfect shortly afterwards.
"In training I showed that I am capable of such a match," said Bergs. "Sometimes I was even surprised when I trained with big names how well I could keep up. The results didn't show it, but my level was there and I was very sure that I could win."
On Thursday, Bergs will face number three in the tournament: Karen Khachanov is waiting.