"Insufferable, move on", "Just pathetic" - Fans slam Chilean tennis federation's 'hilarious demand' after Cristian Garin fiasco at Davis Cup

In the aftermath of Cristian Garin's controversial loss to Zizou Bergs at the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers, the Chile Tennis Federation made multiple formal requests to the International Tennis Federation (ITF). However, the requests prompted several fans to lash out at both Garin and the Chile Tennis Federation.

On Monday, February 3, the Chile Tennis Federation requested the ITF to take three corrective measures after the Davis Cup Qualifiers controversy. Prominent journalist Jose Morgado took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared a screenshot of the official document containing the requests. Morgado captioned the post:

"Chile's tennis federation going big against the ITF: They want a reversal of the 4th rubber's result and a chance to play a 5th rubber AND a wild card directly into the Davis Cup Finals. Both things don't sound compatible."

Many fans though, ridiculed the requests, particularly the one that involves a request for an automatic wild card entry for Chile into the 2025 Davis Cup Finals. Some even suggested that Cristian Garin could have continued playing but chose not to, which ultimately led to his loss. There were a few fans who opined that Garin would have lost anyway, even if he had continued playing.

"Insufferable. Take your L and move tf on," a fan wrote.

"Nice try from Chile But what they demand is absolutely hilarious. Garin is the one who should Chile's federation to blame. He was able to continue the match but chose to put in a show. Just pathetic," commented another.

"I’ve never seen a person/country CRY as much as Cristian Garin/Chile. I think they want everyone to forget that he was about to lose anyway? Their players weren’t good enough to win—plain and simple. Might have been different if Nico Jarry had played, idk," another chimed in.

Here are some more reactions from irked fans on the Chile Tennis Federation's requests to the ITF:

"Nice try Chile! If only you are hanging your hat on someone more trustable the known cheater Garin! Good luck," wrote one fan.

"I feel for them but it’s going a bit far now. I do think the rules were interpreted wrongly through. Belgium should not have got away with this," another added.

"Points 1 and 2 should be granted to Chile immediately Point 3 sounds like a Trump-like tactic though," yet another fan weighed in.

The fiasco stemmed from Cristian Garin being hurt by Zizou Bergs' wild celebration in the third and decisive set of their match. At the time, Bergs had just broken Garin's serve and set up a chance for himself to serve out the contest. The Chilean took an off-court medical timeout but couldn't return in time to complete the match. Later, pictures revealed that the right side of Garin's face, including his right eye, was red and swollen.

As a result, the chair umpire was compelled to issue multiple time violations, which led to a game penalty for Garin. This confirmed both Bergs and Belgium's victory, while Chile's 2025 Davis Cup aspirations went for a toss. Later, the ITF referee who presided over the tie spoke up about the controversial incident.

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"Unfortunate accident" - ITF referee on Cristian Garin-Zizou Bergs controversy at Davis Cup Qualifiers

Zizou Bergs at the 2025 Australian Open (Source: Getty)

Carlos Ramos, the ITF referee in charge of the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers first-round match between Zizou Bergs and Cristian Garin, explained why the Belgian wasn't defaulted despite hurting Garin. Ramos referred to the Chilean being hurt by the Belgian as an "unfortunate accident".

"Completely I consider it was a very unfortunate accident caused unfortunately by a player without any intention. I don't think there is any intention. Nothing that happened during the match would make anybody think that it was not an accident," Ramos said at a press conference.

However, Ramos' take didn't go down well with plenty of fans, who lambasted him by recalling his tense exchanges with Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final.