Cristian Garin was knocked over. © ANSA / OLIVIER MATTHYS

Opponents knocked over: Scandal in the Davis Cup

The Davis Cup duel between Belgium and Chile has repercussions after a proverbial knockout victory for the hosts.

03. February 2025

From: dpa/dl

The Belgians won the match in Hasselt 3-1 after Zizou Berg's Chilean opponent Cristian Garín fell to the ground in front of the players' benches following a collision between the two. Berg's shoulder hit Garín near the eyes as the Belgian sprinted to his bench in celebration. Garín remained down and refused to play on.

The chair umpire then asked the Chilean to continue the match and applied the appropriate penalty catalogue, which ultimately resulted in a loss of game for Garín. Because at this point the score was 6:3, 4:6, 6:5 after a break for Bergs, the Belgian was awarded the game 7:5, which decided the match.

While the guests from South America, including captain and Olympic champion Nicolas Massu, announced that they would take action against the score, 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.

Belgian fears punishment himself

Apparently, in his celebration over the potentially decisive break before his own service game, he had misjudged the distance to the 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 himself had feared a disqualification. But he was given a warning.