The Belgian tennis team wins its qualifier against Chile in a highly bizarre way. The Chilean Cristian Garín goes down after a jostle – and his team is eliminated.
The Davis Cup tie between Belgium and Chile has been followed up by a proverbial knockout victory for the hosts. The Belgians won the match in Hasselt 3-1 after Zizou Berg’s Chilean opponent Cristian Garín went down as a result of a clash between the two in front of the players’ benches. Berg’s shoulder had struck Garín near the eye as the Belgian sprinted to his bench in celebration. Garín remained lying and refused to continue playing.
The chair umpire then ordered the Chilean to continue the game and applied the penalty catalog due, which ultimately resulted in Garín losing the game. Because it was at this point after a break for Bergs 6:3, 4:6, 6:5, the Belgian was awarded the game 7:5, which decided the game.
While the guests from South America, captained by Olympic champion Nicolas Massu, announced that they would challenge the decision, Bergs protested his innocence. “It was never my intention to hurt my opponent,” said the 25-year-old, who is ranked 60th in the world.
Apparently, in his celebration over the potentially decisive break before his own service game, he had misjudged the distance to former top-20 player Garín when the two crossed paths in front of the umpire’s chair. “I want to jump away, but it’s too late and I hit him,” Bergs admitted. He admitted that he feared a disqualification himself. However, it remained a warning.