"I saw Rafael Nadal doing it with other guys, players talk about it" - Zizou Bergs on 'attacking' intimidation factor of Spaniard's pre-match rituals

Zizou Bergs has opened up about the strategy he devised with his coaching team to avoid being intimidated by Rafael Nadal's pre-match routines. Bergs had the opportunity to face the Spaniard at the 2024 Italian Open in May.

Bergs entered the Rome Masters as a qualifier, beating Patrick Kypson and Shang Juncheng to earn his place in the main draw. The Belgian faced Nadal in the first round, displaying no signs of nerves as he clinched the opening set 6-4. However, the Spaniard proved why he has won a record 10 Italian Open titles, turning the match around to claim an impressive 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

While facing a legend of the sport is a daunting task on its own, the 22-time Grand Slam champion's pre-match rituals have notoriously struck a chord of fear in his opponents. Even Novak Djokovic admitted to being "intimidated" by the Spaniard's routine of jumping and doing sprints in the locker room.

However, Zizou Bergs has revealed that he came "prepared" to witness Rafael Nadal's ritual of jumping aggressively in the tunnel before heading out on court, explaining that players often discussed the 38-year-old's habits among themselves.

Bergs also shared that he and his team had assessed various different scenarios to "attack" the intimidation factor of the Spaniard's routine before arriving at the strategy of simply maintaining his focus on himself.

"Luckily the day we played in Rome it didn’t, because I was prepared, I saw him doing it with some other guys. Tennis players talk about it. This is something we attacked early, when we knew we had to play against Nadal. We visualized a lot about different scenarios," Bergs said in an exclusive interview with CLAY.

"And in the beginning, it was just like, okay, I'm ready to beat my opponent. Even though he was doing his thing in the tunnel, you know. So I just took my time to be really focused on myself. And to really have this feeling like I'm going to win the match. Otherwise, would be impossible," he added.

"Playing my weaknesses, you can tell even Rafael Nadal's team did homework on me" - Zizou Bergs

Rafael Nadal with coach Carlos Moya (Source: Getty)

Just as he had prepared for Rafael Nadal's pre-match routines, Zizou Bergs expressed his belief that the Spaniard's team had also done their "homework" on him and targeted his weaknesses. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Belgian described the former World No. 1's intensity as "brutal."

"His game is very tough. It's so heavy. Such a high spin balls. Playing my weaknesses. You can tell even his team did homework on me, what I don't like. The intensity he can give sometimes with his forehand and backhand, it's brutal," Bergs said.

Nevertheless, Bergs cherished the opportunity to compete against his childhood idol, asserting that it was a dream come true.

"Yeah, before the start it's literally living the dream. When you grow up, you watch him all the time on TV, he's your idol, you have photos of you wearing the same clothes as him, want to be him," he said.

Zizou Bergs also shared that he saw flashes of "prime Nadal" during their clash at the Italian Open. Despite his impressive win over Bergs, the Spaniard's campaign at the Rome Masters was short-lived as he suffered a straight-sets loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.