Davis Cup
Bizarre incident in tennis – Belgian jogs opponents to the ground
Updated on 03.02.2025Reading time: 1 min.
The Belgian tennis team wins its qualification game against Chile in a highly bizarre way. The chilene Cristian Garín goes to the ground after a bump.
The Davis Cup duel between Belgium and Chile has an aftermath for the hosts after a proverbial co-victory. The Belgians won the game in Hasselt 3: 1 after Zizou Berg’s Chilean opponent Cristian Garín had come to the ground as a result of a collision of the two in front of the player benches. Berg’s shoulder had hit Garín near the eye when the Belgian cheerfully sprinted to his bank. Garín remained and refused to play.
The chair referee then asked the Chilean to continue the game and applied the due penalty catalog, which ultimately resulted in a loss of game for Garín. Because at that time it was a break for Bergs 6: 3, 4: 6, 6: 5, the Belgian was awarded the game to 7: 5, which made the game decided.
While the guests from South America around captain and Olympic champion Nicolas Massu announced that he was against the rating, Bergs assured his innocence. “It was never my intention to hurt my opponent,” said the 25-year-old, who is 60th in the world rankings.
Apparently he had misjudged the distance to the former top 20 player Garín in his cheers about the possibly decisive break before his own service game when the paths of the two crossed the referee’s chair. “I want to jump away, but it’s too late and I meet him,” said Bergs. He admitted to having feared a disqualification himself. But it remained with a warning.