BOLOGNA, Italy – Zizou Bergs defeated Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6 (4) to send Belgium into the Davis Cup semifinals on Tuesday with an unassailable 2-0 lead over 10-time champion France.
Belgium had lost the past four meetings with France, including in the 2017 final. On Friday they will face number 1 Italy or Austria. The last two quarter-finals will be held on Thursday, pitting No. 2 Germany against Argentina and Spain against No. 4 Czech Republic.
Bergs was in control throughout the match and closed the match with an excellent forehand winner down the line.
Earlier, Raphael Collignon got past Corentin Moutet 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 to give Belgium a 1-0 lead. Draws are played as a best-of-three match: two singles matches and one doubles match.
Both countries were back at this stage of the team competition since it was revamped in 2019. The Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna is the sixth edition of the event where the champion is decided on a neutral venue.
Moutet played solid tennis until the 12th game of the second set, when he hit two double faults and threw an easy point to the net after attempting a shot between the legs, dropping his serve as Collignon forced a decider.
A similar scenario unfolded in the third set when Collignon made the decisive break in the final game.
“It was a crazy game,” Collignon said.
Spain will be without top player Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew earlier Tuesday due to a hamstring injury.
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