"Novak Djokovic was disqualified for much less";"Pathetic" - Fans furious as Zizou Bergs escapes default despite 'hitting' Cristian Garin at Davis Cup

Several tennis fans brought up Novak Djokovic's infamous 2020 US Open disqualification after witnessing a controversial incident that happened recently at the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers. The incident involved Belgium's Zizou Bergs colliding with opponent Cristian Garin of Chile, leaving the latter with a swollen eye and unable to continue.

On Sunday, February 2, Bergs faced Garin in what turned out to be the decisive match in the first-round tie between Belgium and Chile in the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers. After establishing a 6-5 lead in the third set, the Belgian wildly flung himself into the air in celebration as the players headed to their respective benches for a changeover. The celebration stemmed from the fact that Bergs would serve for the match next.

However, shockingly, Zizou Bergs' body made strong contact with the right side of Cristian Garin's face, knocking the Chilean down to the floor. Garin couldn't continue as he sought treatment away from the court for a swollen eye. The chair umpire went on to issue multiple time violations for Garin, resulting in a game penalty and subsequent victory for Bergs and Belgium.

Later, the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Davis Cup shared a video of the collision and captioned the post:

"Zizou Bergs makes a HUGE shot to break serve... but accidently collides with Cristian Garin in celebration"

Most tennis fans were appalled by Bergs' behavior and how it went unpunished. Several recalled Novak Djokovic being defaulted at the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat after carelessly smashing a ball with his racket in frustration.

"Djokovic was disqualified for much less in US Open Dirty b**tards," a fan wrote.

"Accidentally?? Come on… @DjokerNole was disqualified for hitting a line judge accidentally… this wasn’t accidental!!" commented another.

"Accidentally??! Garin is walking slowly straight ahead! this is completely intentional from Bergs and they punish Garin?! tennis its not a contact sport what a shame! when Novak Djokovic’s tennis ball hit the woman with ZERO intention they took him out of the game. What a joke," another fan chimed in.

Others ridiculed the Davis Cup's X handle for suggesting that the collision was an accident.

"The most blatant default i’ve ever seen in tennis but instead he comes home with the win. Disgraceful. Embarrassing. Pathetic," opined one fan.

"A disgraceful act in the Davis Cup! Zizou Bergs (@ZizouBergs) didn’t “accidentally” collide with Cristian Garin he deliberately hit him during his celebration, forcing Garin out of the match. Calling this an “accident” is an insult. Chile was robbed, and justice must be served!," another added.

"From this angle it's even worse, he was hit really hard in the eye and got disqualified for not being able to play? @DavisCup you better fix your ruling," yet another fan weighed in.

After the 2020 US Open controversy, Djokovic had publicly apologized to the female line judge.

"I felt really sorry to cause the shock and drama to her" - Novak Djokovic's public apology in aftermath of US Open 2020 disqualification

Novak Djokovic in the aftermath of his 2020 US Open default (Source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic was not only defaulted at the 2020 US Open but was also slapped with a $7,500 fine for hitting line judge Laura Clark. The Serb later spoke up about the incident at a press conference ahead of the 2020 Italian Open.

"There were a lot of speculations and discussions whether it was deserved or not. I accepted it and I moved on. I checked on Laura after the match; she said that she was fine, no big injuries. I felt really sorry to cause the shock and drama to her. She didn’t deserve that in any way," Djokovic said.

The Serb won his fourth US Open title and 24th Grand Slam at the 2023 edition of the hardcourt Major in Flushing Meadows.