Belgium to Davis Cup Semifinals: Bergs Defeats France

Belgium Advances to Davis Cup Semifinals After Defeating France

In a day full of emotions in Bologna, Italy, Zizou Bergs secured Belgium’s place in the Davis Cup semifinals. Bergs defeated Arthur Rinderknech with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (4), establishing an insurmountable 2-0 lead over France, a team with ten titles in this tournament. This triumph marks a milestone for Belgium, which had suffered four consecutive defeats against France, including the 2017 final. In the next phase, Belgium will face the winner of the match between Italy and Austria on Friday. The last two rounds of the quarterfinals will be played on Thursday, with Germany, number 2, competing against Argentina, and Spain against the Czech Republic, seeded at number 4. Bergs demonstrated consistent dominance throughout the match, sealing the victory with a powerful forehand that left his opponent with no chance. In the first match of the day, Raphael Collignon was in charge of starting the Belgian victory, coming back to defeat Corentin Moutet with partials of 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. This result put Belgium in a 1-0 lead. The Davis Cup matches are decided by the best of three matches: two singles and one doubles. Both Belgium and France returned to this stage of the team tournament since it was renewed in 2019. The Davis Cup Finals 8 in Bologna is the sixth edition of the event that will decide the champion at a neutral venue. Moutet maintained a high level of play until the twelfth game of the second set, where he committed two double faults and missed an easy point at the net after attempting a shot between his legs, conceding his serve and allowing Collignon to force a third set. A similar situation was repeated in the third set, with Collignon achieving the decisive break in the final game.