Rafael Nadal snorts and applauds the departure of Zizou Bergs, one of those many tennis players who get lost in the nebula of the professional peloton. Little was known about him, deservedly applauded by the stands in Rome; Not in vain, it is never easy to address or force a legend like this, demanded from beginning to end in this Thursday’s suffering episode; with a happy outcome for the Spaniard, yes: 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4, in 2h 52m. Gone are those placid days or days of transition; Today’s reality demands work and gritting our teeth, without remission. In the end, the weight of logic prevails and the 37-year-old Spaniard surrenders to the Belgian to save the difficult debut in Rome, making an appointment on Saturday with the giant Hubert Hurkacz. The clash with the Pole will therefore mean a leap in level. Major words the test before the world’s nine.
Nadal commented in Madrid, and later repeated in the run-up to this first duel at the Foro Italico in Rome, that now each match is more unpredictable than they used to be before; It is for the rival, but it is also for himself. In the same way that it is not easy to reincorporate the technical, tactical and strategic automatisms, it is also not easy to manage the emotional curves of the parties nor the potential traps that most of them hide, no matter how much the opponent is a new adversary. (103rd in the world) and has barely stepped foot in the elite. Bergs’ route reflects that at 24 years old, the natural habitat of his discreet career continues to be the challengers and the ITF tournaments—the prelude to the ATP circuit—; Therefore, you have very little to lose. It is here today to enjoy it.
The Belgian plays without complexes and hits the ball flat and hard, while Nadal deciphers him during the initial testing phase. Until then, everything is in order. The champion of 22 majors achieves the break and, apparently, gets the first set back on track; It happens, however, that he begins to touch the ball poorly and doubts appear, transformed into a series of errors that dirty his proposal and reverse the dynamic. His forehand falls short, the ball does not gain height, he loses track and enables the brave attacks of his rival, benefiting from the errors – 16 in the first act – and grateful for obtaining an unexpected prize thanks to the Spaniard’s blunder, penalized by a send to the net and two double faults. Nadal is restless, upset in his gesture; For a while, he loses control. And this didn’t usually happen.
The lack of control destabilizes him, but he finds a breath of fresh air in a pause caused by the indisposition of a spectator at the top of the stands. He then goes to his bench, expresses himself and frees himself towards a necessary relaxation, because although there is still a lot of mourning left, it can lead to a delicate scenario that does not interest him. Carlos Moyà and Marc López calm him down and suggest that he play long, and emphasize that in the same way that the nerves are now on his side, they can quickly move to the boy’s side. However, Bergs holds his own; He does not let up and forces the rest in each turn, but as Nadal tempers his game a little and refines his mobility, being more active with his legs and more natural in the maneuver, he ends up giving in and the development flows more according to logic.
From there, the Mallorcan begins to recognize himself and find things that he has been pursuing lately. Now he lets go of his hand; he tries angles and gains depth; His footwork regains spark and he throws acrobatically for the return, rolling over; he celebrates with rage break, because Bergs, Zizou named in honor of Zidane’s class, doesn’t get away from it even with a shot. He has guts, the Belgian. Even though he has given ground, he presses and pushes without stopping, without fear; He replies with personality and takes out a booklet to examine who knows what, during one of the pauses; He reaches 0-40 with 3-2 and 0-30 with 4-3, forcing Nadal to row from start to finish, without granting a single moment of respite or tranquility, even deceiving with some high ball . In the end, however, the giant overcomes the demand and closes with its own signature: thread and line to progress.
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