Zizou Bergs scored his first Top 10 win in seven tries against Andrey Rublev in a moving moment at the Miami Open presented by Itau, as he added the No. 8 seed’s name to the lengthy list of top players who have been sent packing amid early-round carnage.
As he sealed a commanding 7-5, 6-4 victory on Butch Buchholz Court, a visibly emotional Bergs threw his hands in the air in celebration and blew a kiss up to the sky, repeating the gesture as he later waved to fans and supporters.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to think yet,” Bergs said, in tears during his on-court interview. “It’s just a very emotional day for me. My grandfather died two years ago on this day.”
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The 25-year-old opened up about the harrowing experience, recalling how he learned the news from his father after his first-round match. Bergs had just made his main draw debut in Miami, and made a strong effort against Thanasi Kokkinakis before the Aussie closed it out in a third-set heartbreaker, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
“Afterwards, I went to the locker room and got the news,” Bergs recalled. “So today, a Top 10 (win) is amazing.”
