Bergs Displays Winning Formula In Marseille

Zizou Bergs, Open 13 Provence, Marseille
Zizou Bergs (photo: Open 13 Provence/Corinne Dubreuil)

MARSEILLE/WASHINGTON, February 13, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

Zizou Bergs, one of only two Belgian singles players entered this week at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille advanced to his fifth ATP Tour quarterfinal – his fourth since October – and third indoors, after Antwerp and Metz last year, by defeating No. 8 seed Nuno Borges of Portugal, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2, in two hours and 10 minutes on Court Central Thursday afternoon.

The 25-year-old, 62nd-ranked Bergs succeeded with a high-risk, high-reward strategy that saw him strike 35 winners – including 13 service aces – while committing 47 unforced errors. He won 84 percent of points on his first serve, saved both break points he faced and converted four of 10 opportunities against the No. 39-ranked Borges, who countered with 14 winners but also made 34 unforced errors.

“I’m super happy with getting another close win,” Bergs said during his on-court interview. “It’s always a battle, I guess. I feel like I’m never finished with him. He always comes back, playing better tennis – finding his spots – and it was the same today. I showed more aggressivity – finding my own spots a little bit deeper – and I felt like I was more dominant. I think that was the key today.”

At a set each, Bergs jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the final set with a break of Borges in the fourth game. He consolidated his third service break after hitting his 12th ace to close out a love hold for a 4-1 lead. Soon, Bergs effectively closed the door on Borges with his first match-point opportunity after the Portuguese No. 1 netted a third-shot forehand return.

The victory was Bergs’ ninth of the season in 12 outings – including his second over Borges this season – as he chases after his second final of the year folowing Auckland last month. The Belgian No. 2 defeated Borges, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 in the semifinal round in New Zealand. He’s the fourth Belgian to reach the Marseille quarterfinal in the tournament’s 33-year history – following Filip DeWulf, David Goffin and Olivier Rochus. Bergs began his Marseille journey with a 6-4, 6-4 first-round win over 189th-ranked French qualifier Clement Chidekh.

“I tried to improve a lot,” Bergs admitted. “I changed a few things in pre-season and I’m trying to put it all together on the court. In January [at Auckland] a lot of things were working well, but I felt I needed some more improvement. It’s not always there – the balance – but it’s something I work on every day. … It’s a matter of putting everything together. If I keep going, I’m going to be a better player.”

Zhang earns first Top-20 win since last June

Next, Bergs will face 52nd-ranked Zhang Zhizhen of China, who upset World No. 20 and fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-3, in two hours and eight minutes on Court Central. Zhang garnered his first Top-20 win on a hard court since beating Hurkacz two years ago in Tokyo. It was his first Top-20 win overall since defeating then-No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in Halle last June.

Zhang struck 37 winners to 36 unforced errors, compared to 30 winners and 34 unforced errors for the 2023 Marseille champion Hurkacz. The Chinese star added 10 aces, won 76 percent of his first-serve points and converted two of 10 break points. He outpointed Hurkacz 99-91.

“I felt great on court today,” said Zhang, who reached his second straight Marseille quarterfinal and improved to 4-5 on the 2025 season.

Medvedev wins Marseille rematch against Herbert

Playing in Marseille isn’t a new experience for World No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, who won the 2021 title the last time he came to the Bouches-du-Rhône region in southern France. He back this year and competing in his fourth Open 13 Provence. However, the Marseille tournament is the first ATP 250 event for the Russian since 2023 at s-Hertogenbosch.

Thursday evening, Medvedev gave himself a 29th birthday present. He reached his fourth straight Marseille quarterfinal with his 6-2, 6-4 victory over 192nd-ranked French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The featured second-round match on Court Central was a brief one – it lasted only 69 minutes – but it showed the top-seeded Medvedev at his best. He hit six aces – including the final one on match point and added 19 winners overall en route to his third win of the season and eighth career triumph in Marseille.

Medvedev won 90 percent of his first-serve points, dropping just three points, and saved the only break point he faced. He converted three of four break points against Herbert and outpointed him 63-38.

“Pierre is a really tough player,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “It’s funny enough we’ve played five times on tour and three times here in Marseille. So, that’s where we meet all the time. I’m happy that I managed to play [at a] good level – didn’t lose my serve – and I’m happy to win. … Marseille is a tournament I like. I’m happy to be back.”

Struff guts out three-set win over Grenier

On Friday, Medvedev will face No. 46 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, who gutted out a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over 202nd-ranked French qualifier Hugo Grenier, in two hours and 14 minutes on Court Central Thursday night. Playing in Marseille for the first time since 2017, Struff is through to his first hard-court quarterfinal since 2023 at Sofia.

Struff fired 16 aces and accumulated 49 winners against Grenier, who countered with 14 aces and 26 winners of his own. The German No. 2 committed 50 unforced errors to 34 for Grenier. Struff converted five of 13 break points and outpointed Grenier 110-101.

“It was a very tough match,” Struff said in his on-court interview. “Hugo played very good, was fighting very hard. I had a set up and a break up and I couldn’t convert it.

“I had a lot of frustration today in the match that I didn’t take my chances. There was a lot of ups and downs, a lot of hustle and fight. I’m very, very happy I stayed in there and found a way to win the match. It was very close, a tough battle.”

Around the Palais des Sports de Marseille

• No. 1 seeds Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France advanced to the doubles semifinals after holding off unseeded Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl of Czechia, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 10-5, in one hour and 44 minutes on Court Central. The winners combined to hit four aces, won 81 percent of their first-serve points, converted two of five break points and outpointed their opponents 78-68.

Next, Nys and Roger-Vasselinwill face French duo Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the semifinal round on Saturday.

• Also, No. 2 seeds Sander Gille of Belgium and Jan Zielinski of Poland, finalists last week in Rotterdam, defeated unseeded Yuki Bhambri of India and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-4, in 65 minutes on Court 1 in a quarterfinal match. The Belgian/Polish duo combined to hit eight aces, won 78 percent of their service points, saved both break points they faced and converted two of six break points against Bhambri and Middelkoop. They outpointed their opponents 57-43.

Next, Gille and Zielinski will face No. 3 seeds Andre Goransson of Sweden and Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands in Friday’s semifinal round.

Thursday’s Open 13 Provence results

Friday’s Open 13 Provence order of play

By the numbers

Hubert Hurkacz is now 29-4 against players ranked outside the Top 50 since the start of the 2024 season after losing to No. 52 Zhang Zhizhen Thursday afternoon.

“Quotable …”

“It’s a different tournament for me, because I have a title to defend. It’s a different pressure, but I will try to find a solution to win my matches here. It’s a pleasure to play in France. The crowd pushes me every time, so I really like to play in Marseille.”

– Defending champion and this year’s No. 2 seed Ugo Humbert of France, during his on-court interview Wednesday evening after defeating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, speaking about his fondness in playing in Marseille and in France.

 

Search

Brigitte Urban
Tennis photographer
camera lens

International Blogs

Florian Heer

Meanwhile in Germany…. Internationale Tennis-Saison in Deutschland eröffnet

January 27, 2025

Dietmar Kaspar

Schwaben Open kehren 2025 in die bayerischen Sommerferien zurück

December 16, 2024

Podcast

Categories