The season-ending World Cup of tennis, the Davis Cup, has seen major news in the past few hours. The current world no. 1, Carlos Alcaraz, announced that he had withdrawn from Spain’s team because of an injury sustained on Sunday at the ATP Finals. His withdrawal left Germany’s Alexander Zverev as the only top-10 men’s singles player competing this week. Still, the Davis Cup continues, with the QFs moving forward. And the biggest moment came when Zizou Bergs led Belgium to become the 1st nation to secure a spot in the Davis Cup semifinals.

Belgium earned a famous victory over longtime rivals France to reach the Davis Cup semi-finals in Bologna. Zizou Bergs secured the decisive point with a strong 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Arthur Rinderknech. Earlier, Raphael Collignon had set the tone with a brilliant 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 comeback against Corentin Moutet. These two wins gave Belgium the edge it needed to move forward in the competition.

After the match, Bergs was thrilled and celebrated with a special handshake and chest bump with Captain Steve Darcis. He spoke openly about his emotions later. “It’s pretty weird, like something was bogging my head,” he said after the match. “I don’t really know what happened. Just a few points, but I’ll probably re-watch it and be very proud of what I did, but also what Raphael did in the match before. For me, it just gives this extra push and this extra tranquillity to go out there and enjoy myself. So this one is a big credit to the team again.”

Belgium reached the Final 8 thanks to a 3-2 win away in Australia during September’s Qualifier. Now, they have knocked out a second Grand Slam nation. This victory feels especially meaningful because Belgium had lost four straight ties to France, including the 2017 final. Breaking that streak made the win even sweeter for the team and their supporters.

Zizou Bergs described what it meant to play for his country at such an important moment. “It’s just something you can’t describe,” he stated. “The sensations before the competition are just different. Today, before the match, I was more stressed than usual, but I know the more I stress, the more I care, the better it’s going to be. The efficiency is on the court, and I have an amazing team giving me the love and support, as well as the fans. All this together, I guess it’s working out for me.”

He also talked about the pride he felt in the group and the mindset that guides them. “It’s just such a help. If he wins, there is a huge opportunity. It’s not about, ‘If I don’t win this, we’re going to fail.’ No, if I don’t win this, we’re just going to get another chance. So it’s a little different mindset. Yeah, that’s just great to have this as a team, to see that as a team we’re growing and becoming better tennis players every year. I’m really proud of us, and hopefully we can continue this path.”

While Zizou Bergs shared his thoughts, other team members and Captain Darcis also reflected on the historic achievement. Their combined efforts and belief in one another helped Belgium achieve a memorable and long-awaited victory against France.

Steve Darcis proud of Zizou Bergs and Collignon’s collective win for Belgium

Belgium earned a huge victory as they continue their quest for a first-ever Davis Cup title. They defeated the 10-time champions with two strong singles performances. Since ties are now best-of-three matches, the doubles was not needed. Both countries were returning to this stage of the event for the first time since the Davis Cup format was revamped in 2019.

This year’s Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna marks the sixth edition in which the champion is crowned at a neutral venue. “It was a crazy match,” Collignon said. “I think I was maybe a bit lucky that he chose to do this tweener at 6-5 because it was tough for me. I was not playing so good. He was dominating the match.” His honesty reflected the intensity and unpredictability of the contest, not to mention Moutet’s antics.

Captain Steve Darcis also shared his pride in the team’s performance. “Of course it’s good that we could win today because we didn’t win since 1997,” Darcis said. “It’s a long time. We are losing in every sport also. So now at least we have a nice win to bring home.” His words underscored how meaningful the win by Zizou Bergs and Collignon was for Belgian sport.

The last two quarterfinals will be played on Thursday. No. 2 Germany will face Argentina, while Spain meets the No. 4-seeded Czech Republic. It remains to be seen which teams will join Belgium in the final four.