Zizou Bergs claimed the inaugural Tie Break Tens Dubai tennis tournament at the weekend with a victory over Taylor Fritz at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
The 22-year-old Belgian was neck and neck with Fritz on almost every point before sealing the final 11-9 with a smash. The win gave Bergs the championship trophy and $136,000 (AED 500,000) in prize money.
The culmination of the tournament saw wild card Bergs power his way past Dustin “Dreddie” Brown in his first match and then Gael Monfils in the semifinal. Indian Davis Cup representative Ramkumar Ramanathan was knocked out by Dan Evans in the first round. Evans then lost to Fritz.
“It’s actually unbelievable,” said Bergs. “I didn’t know much about Tie Break Tens — we’re used to playing long matches, which can be a little tense sometimes at the end, but this is tense all the time. It’s fantastic for the crowds and a great part of the process of becoming a great tennis player as well.”
The first Tie Break Tens tournament to visit the Middle East was organized with the support of Dubai Sports Council and title sponsor Zone, an online electronic sports and cryptocurrency platform.
“These things don’t come about without a lot of hard work and I’d like to thank our partners, Dubai Sports Council, our title sponsor Zone, Coca-Cola Arena and all the players who took time out of their schedule along with everyone who played a part in making this happen,” Tournament Director Jimmy Poon said.
“Once again Dubai has hosted tennis of the very highest quality, and Zizou Bergs proved to be a worthy winner. The excitement generated by the fast-paced Tie Break Tens format has created a real buzz here tonight, and is something everyone is looking forward to building on in the future.”
Taking place alongside the main event, the Tie Break Tens Dubai Grassroots Junior Tournament featured some of UAE’s rising talent, who made it to the competition via a series of qualifier events. In the U18 boys’ final, Raed Rizvi, 14, beat 15-year-old Henri Mikael 12-10 to become champion. In the girls’ U18 tournament, Rosaleen Ali Yousef, 16, emerged victorious 10-8 over Coumba Niangadou, 17.
The Tie Break Tens format is the only officially recognized short form of tennis, with matches comprised solely of tie breaks.
Full results:
Match 1 Dan Evans v Ramkumar Ramanathan 10-7; match 2 Taylor Fritz v Simon Roberts 10-3; match 3 Zizou Bergs v Dustin Brown 10-6; match 4 Gael Monfils v Benjamin Hassan 10-8.
Semifinals: Match 1 Taylor Fritz v Dan Evans 10-7; match 2 Zizou Bergs v Gael Monfils 10-8.
Final: Zizou Bergs v Taylor Fritz 11-9.