Belgium defeated France 2-0 on Tuesday evening in the opening match of the Davis Cup final in Bologna, Italy.
Raphael Collignon and Zizou Bergs secured singles victories for the Belgians, who advanced to the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2017 – when they ultimately lost to none other than France in the final. Collignon opened with a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Corentin Moutet before Bergs made the difference by beating Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6(4).
“It’s always a special moment when you can serve for a match – and in the Davis Cup it’s a little more than in the other tournaments, because you want it even more,” Bergs explains. “I always have a lot of confidence in the tiebreak. I stayed pretty calm and tried to focus on what I needed to win.”
“Of course it’s good that we could win today, because we [have not defeated France] since 1997,” said Captain Steve Darcis. “It’s a long time. We also lose (against them) in every sport. So at least now we have a nice win to take home.
“We had a very good preparation for this match. We were all ready to be on the field. I think we saw it today. I just told them that I don’t care if we win (or) lose – I only care if you do your best, if you fight. I want to be proud of you after the games. Today I can say that I am proud of them.”
Belgium will face Italy or Austria in the semi-finals on Friday.
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