Zizou Bergs (ATP 74) was smiling on Thursday in China after winning his first victory in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. In the Stadium Court, the Limburger, 25, beat the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen (ATP 41), 27, 6-4 and 6-3 after 1h18.
“It’s obviously nice, but in all honesty, whether it’s an ATP 500 or a Masters 1000, the level is quite similar,” he confided. “It’s above all a question of doing things well. This victory is nevertheless very sweet, because it was acquired on the center court, in a sumptuous arena, against the Chinese star. It was a special evening. The The audience was obviously on his side, but he was very respectful. That’s why I apologized after the match in front of the camera, because I know he comes from Shanghai and everyone wanted to. seeing him win. My aggression had dropped a bit when I was leading 4-2 in the second set, but I pulled myself together to finish strong.”
This is the first time that Zizou Bergs has participated in the Shanghai tournament. The native of Lommel will meet in the second round the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (ATP 10), 33, who beat him in four sets in the third round at Roland-Garros.
“It’s a fabulous tournament, remarkably well organized,” he continued. “The complex is sumptuous. It will be an exciting match against Dimitrov. I have the advantage of having already faced him at Roland-Garros. I had played a great match, which made me realize that I could compete with the best and that I could beat them, even if I had lost. It gave me a lot of confidence. I will be even better prepared to face him in two days. “
