Belgium advanced to the second round of the Davis Cup qualifiers in unusual circumstances after Chilean Cristian Garin was knocked over by Belgian Zizou Bergs.
Bergs was celebrating after winning a crucial game in the third set, sprinting toward his bench in excitement. Garis was making his way through the narrow gap between the net and the umpire’s chair at the same time. The two collided, with Bergs accidentally catching Garin in the eye with his shoulder.
Bergs quickly began apologizing while Garin requested medical attention for the injury.
Garin called for disqualification, but loses the match
Upset, Garin also refused to continue with the game and demanded that Bergs be disqualified.
Instead, Garin was handed three consecutive time violations, which led to a game penalty. As a result, he lost the match without even having to get up from the bench and step back onto the court.
The athlete expressed his frustration on social media, saying: “I still can’t believe that they disqualified us…The general referee forced me to play with dizziness and without being able to see well after playing at high intensity.” (His words were translated to English by Wide World of Sports,)
Technically, Chile were not disqualified. They were penalized with three consecutive time violations that resulted in a game penalty, causing them to forfeit the match.
Garin lamented: “I’ve been loving this sport for years, watching millions of matches, and I never saw or thought I’d experience something like that. Very sad after all the effort of the week and all the teamwork.”
He added: “Thanks to the ITF [International Tennis Federation] for not caring about my health… Thanks to everyone. Tough time but we keep going.”
On X.com, a netizen claimed that the incident was not an accident. He stated: “The Belgian player’s gesture is clearly intentional and should be disqualified, as Shapovalov was in hitting a referee with a ball, and other players having committed similar acts. Garín was greatly affected physically and mentally due to the blow and not allowed to play normally.”
Another netizen also blamed the Belgian, saying: “This is not an accident, the Belga player jumps when is approaching to Garin and there is no reason to jump there, he tries to make it look like an accident as in football.”
Zizou Bergs makes a HUGE shot to break serve… but accidently collides with Cristian Garin in celebration 😮 pic.twitter.com/6H2RqRmx4m
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) February 2, 2025