Miami Open star breaks down in tears in post-match | Sports News

Zizou Bergs was emotional in the post-match interview after taking down No. 8-seeded Andrey Rublev in the second spherical of the Miami Open. 

The Belgian appeared dominant in his matchup in opposition to the Russian in Miami, successful in straight units, 7-5, 6-4 to take home his first top-10 win of his profession. Bergs’s win got here after he defeated Nuno Borges in the match prior, although his most up-to-date win got here on an important day for the 25-year-old. 

As he was talking after the match, Bergs famous that his win was on the precise date of his grandfather’s passing. During the interview, the younger star could not comprise his feelings as he appeared back on the final handful of years and the place he’s now. 

“Honestly, I don’t know what to think yet,” Bergs admitted. “It’s just a very emotional day for me. My grandfather, he died three years ago on this day when I was playing [Thanasi] Kokkinakis here, and I lost 7-6 in the third, and afterwards went to the locker room and got the news. So today, that top 10 is just amazing.”

With tears streaming down his face, Bergs continued to wipe them off with the towel draped throughout his shoulders as he tried to elucidate the place his profession would go from right here. The Belgian shared he confronted an uphill battle and with a win in opposition to Rublev in the books, he believes that may very well be a likelihood for him to advance to larger issues. 

“Well, it was being a wall where it was, yeah, just I couldn’t break that wall,” the still-tearful Bergs mirrored. “I lost so many times against top 20, top 10s, with many of the time winning is set. So finally this happened. So I’m just curious where it goes.

“I used to be curious right now how it was going to be, as a result of I feel we improved a lot the final week, the final month. So let’s hope I can proceed on this path and keep climbing the rankings.”

For Bergs, winning a match of that magnitude on the day his grandfather died clearly meant a lot to the star. In October 2024, the Belgian shared what he and his grandfather would do after matches to help him get better, along with the feeling he had after his passing. 

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“In juniors and in first years of professional he was touring with me to some tournaments,” Bergs recalled to Clay Tennis on the time. “We would share the room and he would take us out for dinner many instances. I bear in mind going out and if the Chinese restaurant was closing, he would inform the proprietor, ‘It’s higher to remain open as a result of we’re gonna eat a lot.’

“He would send me a lot of details about the opponent. After the match he loved to do analysis. I always hoped that if he passed away that he would keep advising me. And surprisingly, I felt certain signs, like stupid things, like dreams. So it’s crazy how it is the relationship because the connection is still there.”

He added: “We had a different relationship comparing to my other cousins. We were more intense. We shared the same values and interests. We were both interested in bussiness management, so we were talking a lot about it. Every time I got in a difficult period or needed life advice, or coaching stuff, he was there for me with a clear advice.”