© BELGIUM
Zizou Bergs (ATP 129) faces his first Australian Open tennis. The 23-year-old Limburger qualified for the main draw in Melbourne through the qualifications. On Tuesday (at 1 am Belgian time) he will compete on court 14 against the Serbian Laslo Djere (ATP 70), who, just like David Goffin (ATP 53), reached the quarter finals this week at the ATP 250 tournament in Auckland.
Raf HermansBron: BELGIAN
“I think it’s a good draw,” Bergs told Belga on Sunday. “I am happy with it, because it seems to be an opponent of my level. I already played against him in Gstaad in 2021. I couldn’t handle the pressure then, but I still managed to get a third set. Djere has good serve and is generally a solid player. He knows what to do. Matches against him are often a game of chess, but that suits me.”
Djere won the only mutual duel in July 2021 in three sets. That was on Swiss clay. Bergs hopes that the hard court in Australia will suit him better. “I will probably be the dominant player,” he explained. “I have to stay mentally strong and focused. We play matches up to three won sets at grand slam tournaments, which is also something I have to take into account. I’m not that normal yet. After my qualification I was able to relax a bit with Ruben (his coach, Ruben Bemelmans, ed.). We went to the zoo and had dinner in town. I feel recharged and ready to play a good tournament.”
