Rafael Nadal fights back to avoid embarrassing defeat to TikTok star at Italian Open
Rafael Nadal came from a set down to defeat Zizou Bergs at the Italian Open
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Nadal continued his comeback in Rome after a promising run at the Madrid Open, where he reached the fourth round and upset world No. 11 Alex De Minaur en route. The 37-year-old drew a qualifier in the first round, with Bergs receiving the spot to face the ‘King of Clay’. “So this is happening on Thursday,” the excited Belgian wrote on social media when he saw the draw, adding a heart-eye emoji.
While some stars can be overwhelmed by the occasion of playing a multi-Grand Slam champion like Nadal, the 24-year-old was up for the test. After going down an early break, Bergs immediately got back on serve and broke again to serve for the first set, taking it 6-4 in 47 minutes. Nadal’s level had dropped compared to Madrid, as he fired down just three winners to 16 unforced errors in the opener.
There was a lengthy delay as the Spaniard served to start the second set as he realised that someone in the crowd was unwell while 40-0 up, informing the umpire who called paramedics. The former world No. 1 quickly finished off the game to get himself on the board when play resumed.
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But Bergs seemed to struggle with the interruption as he was broken in the next game, giving Nadal the game on a double fault. He hung in and was rewarded with a break point opportunity at 1-3 but sent the ball long as Nadal let out a loud “vamos” and kept himself ahead.
The 10-time champion was under pressure as he served for the set, saving a break point to take it 6-3 and force a decider. But Bergs refused to go away, putting his finger to his ears as he fired down a winner to seal the first game of the final set.
The 37-year-old responded with an impossible point of his own in the next game, falling to the floor and getting up to finish off the rally with a volley, sending the crowd into a frenzy. It was Nadal who pounced first again in the decider, earning an early break with another winner.
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Nadal failed to capitalise on another break opportunity to extend his lead and Bergs suddenly had three break-back points. But the Spaniard shut the door, winning five points in a row to maintain his advantage. He dug himself out of another mini-hole at 0-30 down in his next service game to put himself within touching distance of the second round.
After two hours and 53 minutes, Nadal finally got the job done and completed the comeback to book his spot in the second round where he faces No. 7 seed Hubert Hurkacz. While Bergs’ campaign in Rome is now over, fans could get to relive it if he decides to feature his match on his TikTok.
The world No. 108 shares vlogs and skits about life on tour and has more than 75,000 followers on the platform, with several videos racking up more than a million views. Nadal himself made an attempted foray into TikTok in 2021, creating an account on the platform. “I am a tennis player and learning this young tool… stay tuned,” his bio reads, though he hasn’t touched the account since.
