Belgian tennis had an ambition of seeing six of their players in the men’s draw at this year’s French Open but instead, all eyes will be on one player.
The European nation has suffered a series of blows over the past week. Their top player, world No.47 David Goffin, has been forced to withdraw from the Grand Slam due to a foot injury. Meanwhile, Raphaël Collignon was another who gained automatic entry into the main draw but cannot play due to a thumb injury he picked up whilst playing in Hamburg last week.
In the French Open qualifying tournament, there was further disappointment with Gauthier Onclin and Alexander Blockx losing in the first round. Kimmer Coppejans fared slightly better by reaching the second round before losing to 10th seed Elmer Moller.
Belgian hopes now rest on the shoulders of 25-year-old Zizou Bergs, who is currently ranked 49th in the world. Bergs played his maiden ATP final earlier this year in Auckland and reached the BMW Open quarter-finals in Munich last month. Overall, he has achieved a win-loss record of 17-10 so far this season.
“The team is feeling optimistic about Zizou’s form following several productive weeks of training,” Bergs’ father Koen told Ubitennis.
“Zizou thrives in big moments, and we’re confident he’ll rise to the occasion in his opening match at Roland Garros.”
After recently splitting with coach Kristof Vliegen, Bergs is being guided on the Tour by former player Ruben Bemelmans, who retired from the Tour in 2022. Also in his team are Coach and Sports Psychologist Gert-Jan De Muynck, performance coach Kurt Jansen and physiotherapist Nicolas Dams.
“There is no added pressure—just increased media attention,” Koen said of his son being the only Belgian man in the French Open draw.
“Zizou is fully aware of the expectations placed on him by the nation. As a proud patriot, he embraces the spotlight and is eager to draw strength from the Belgian support. He is ready to give his all to make Belgium proud.”
It was at the French Open 12 months ago that Bergs achieved his best Grand Slam result to date. After coming through three rounds of qualifying, he claimed his first-ever main draw win at a major event by defeating 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo. The player who defeated Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo earlier this year. Then in the second round, he beat Maximilian Marterer before getting knocked out of the tournament by Grigor Dimitrov.
Bergs faces a tricky task of trying to repeat his run in Paris this year. His opening match will be against the fast-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Perricard, who is seeded 31st in the draw, has only won one match on the clay this season at ATP events ranked 250 or above. However, he did win a Challenger title on the surface last month in Bordeaux.
“Zizou has a challenging draw, but so does his opponent,” Koen commented. “We expect an intense, emotionally charged match. That said, we believe it’s a 50/50 contest, and Zizou is ready for the battle ahead.”
Bergs is scheduled to play his first round match on Sunday. Should he reach the third round again, he could face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
