Bergs after colliding with Garin in Davis Cup: "It's obviously a bit my fault, but he's exaggerating too".
One of the most controversial events on the tennis planet at the start of 2025 took place this weekend during the Davis Cup clash between Belgium and Chile in the first round of the play-offs.
At the end of the match, Zizou Bergs, who had just taken Cristian Garin's serve, collided with the latter as he returned to his chair.
Injured in the face, the Chilean refused to resume the match, forcing chair referee Carlos Ramos to give him several warnings, synonymous with defeat.
The tennis federations of the two countries concerned issued a statement, while Garin and Ramos also gave their versions of events.
Zizou Bergs also spoke to RTBF about the incident in recent hours.
"I played a very good first set, with a lot of conviction. In the second set, I started to have doubts, maybe because of the stress, I don't know exactly.
I tried to find my rhythm again and I did, even if I didn't manage to go all the way. In the third set, I started to find myself fully, and I think that at the important moments, he cracked a little.
He felt the pressure I was putting on him, because I kept pushing. It's quiet in the room now, but we're going to celebrate all the same.
It's a shame that such a great battle should end like this. I hope everyone understands that this was an unintentional incident. In the end, the decision was made by the referee.
It gave me goosebumps to be able to be here and win this match. And just when I've got the chance to close out the match on my serve, something like this happens.
I hit it, yes. I make a small mistake, in a moment of pure excitement. After hitting that passing shot, I jumped for joy, ran to the bench and thought I'd beat him.
But I wasn't. He saw me coming and in the end, I hit him. It's obviously a bit my fault, but I think he's exaggerating too.
And the referee's judgment is therefore also in my favor. I don't know if this incident will go down in the history books.
I remember something similar happened a few years ago in a handball arena, and I have the feeling that the Chileans must not like me too much at the moment", he said.
