"Garin got popped a little bit" – Andy Roddick weighs in on Davis Cup controversy between Cristian Garín and Zizou Bergs

The Davis Cup tie between Chile and Belgium featured several intense battles, but one incident between Cristian Garín and Zizou Bergs has dominated the discussion following the match.

The match was closely contested, going down to the wire, but what happened after Bergs' crucial break of serve in the third set has been the main talking point.

As stated before, it was a tight battle between Garín and Bergs, with both players giving everything on the court. At 5-5 in the third set, Bergs hit a sensational shot to break Garín's serve. The Belgian player ran to his bench in celebration but collided with Garín.

Garín fell to the ground and received medical attention for his injuries, but he ultimately refused to continue playing. This led to a series of time violations and penalties, resulting in Bergs being awarded the victory.

The Chilean Tennis Federation expressed its frustration with the decision and released an official statement.

"The Chilean Tennis Federation expresses its deep consternation and rejection of the events that occurred during the Davis Cup series played against Belgium this Sunday, February 2, 2025, in Hasselt, valid for the first round of the World Group Qualifiers."

"In that instance, our player Cristian Garin was attacked by Zizou Bergs and, incomprehensibly and unacceptably, ended up being disqualified, which meant the defeat of our country by 3-1."

The statement also criticised the match officials and medical response:

"After being hit by the Belgian player, Cristian did not receive due attention from the neutral doctor appointed by the organisation."

"Despite this situation, the general referee, Mr Carlos Ramos, from Portugal, validated the continuity of the match and urged our player to return to the match. However, as he was unable to do so due to dizziness and inflammation in his eye, he was disqualified."

The Chilean Federation confirmed that it would take further action with the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Many figures in tennis have reacted to the incident, including former world number one Andy Roddick, who gave his thoughts on his podcast, Served.

Andy Roddick questioned whether Bergs should have been celebrating so close to his opponent but also suggested that Garín might have been playing for a default.

"[Zizou] Bergs, should he have been hopping through there when it was crowded?" he said.

"No."

Roddick also raised doubts about Garín's decision to stay down after the collision.

"[Cristian] Garin got popped a little bit, but here's where I am," he said.

"If I get popped a little bit and am Garin, maybe it's bad, whatever. You are sitting there, and you're cogent enough to put together the pieces."

He then suggested that Garín may have considered his chances of getting Bergs defaulted.

"This is going to get me in trouble. [Are] you ready for it?"

"If you are on the ground looking up and the guy is serving for the match, what are you, about 15 or 20% max chance to break?"

"But you are not going on as if you have a 40% chance to break there; if you are Garin, you are putting [Carlos] Ramos [the umpire] in a weird spot; are you 50/50 to get the default?"

"I would have been thinking it; I tell you, what if I thought I had a 10% chance to break but a 50/50 [DQ chance]? What is more, responsible to your team right there?"

Roddick then added that Garín may have miscalculated the situation.

"But then a certain amount of time passes, you have got to realise if it is going to happen, it is going to happen in the first little bit," he said.

"Then you have to call the trainer and do the whole thing, and we hope he is okay."

Bergs responded to the controversy on social media, but Roddick found his statement unconvincing.

"They put up a thing, and Zizou kind of said sorry, not sorry, saying that the umpire was on my side, so yay, we are advancing," he said.

It was a controversial incident, and hearing the former world number one's take is interesting.