Zizou Bergs, Zinedine Zidane & a Roland Garros breakthrough

It was a memorable scene Thursday in Paris. After Zizou Bergs defeated Maximilian Marterer 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 at Roland Garros to reach the third round of a major for the first time, the Belgian stepped to the middle of Court 5.

The 24-year-old volleyed verses of song in Dutch with the crowd. Translated, Bergs sang, “Where is the party?” The crowd responded, “Here is the party!”

Bergs’ father, Koen Bergs, told ATPTour.com of the moment: “Zizou is really loved in the French-speaking part of Belgium. But also certainly in France, they all know Zizou, and it's a name that they like to sing very often.

“You will notice around the courts that even when he played the last [round of] qualies against the Frenchman, Mathias Bourgue, the French fans were not against him, they were in favour of the Frenchman. But [they were] also in favour of Zizou because the name is really popular, and everybody is associating him with the French football player Zinedine Zidane. It's amazing that here in France he is making his breakthrough and gets into the Top 100.”

There is actually a fun story behind Zizou’s connection with Zinedine Zidane, whose nickname is Zizou. The breakthrough star was named after the football legend.

“Obviously it's thanks to the amazing Zinedine Zidane. My mom always thought that I was going to be a girl actually, so she didn't have any ultrasounds or anything,” Bergs said in his post-match press conference. “Suddenly I was born, and I was a boy.”

Koen provided more insight into the family’s naming process: “We have an older son, who is called Maxim, and so my wife was convinced it was a girl. We had a lot of girls’ names like Amelie and others. And then suddenly, it came out that he is a boy. And then we thought, 'Okay, what kind of name are we giving him?' We didn't reflect on any names.

“At the moment I was playing football, soccer, at a local club in my neighborhood. That was during the World Championships and we all got nicknames when we were practising on the courts, and my nickname was Zizou... So they called me Zizou and I said to my wife, 'Hey, why not Zizou?' That's a special name. And it sounds good, Maxim and Zizou. So my two sons now, that is a very good combination.”

It is fitting that Bergs is enjoying the biggest moment of his career in a country where his name is so important. Zidane won FIFA World Player of the Year three times and also earned the Ballon d’Or once.

“I must say that it's great in France. As a kid you have a very special name, and you don't know what happens at school,” Bergs said. “If you are a little different and have a different name, things are not that easy, but now every time I come back to France for a Challenger tournament or anything, people are just a little nicer to me because of my name. That's really great.”

Zidane won his Ballon d’Or in 1998 and Bergs was born in 1999. He did not grow up during the football star’s prime years.

“I was a tiny little kid back then, and the very last memory I have of Zizou was the World Cup,” Bergs said. “I must say, I wasn't really following football when I was little, but then again I'm from Belgium, and in Belgium we love football, especially with ECA, et cetera, so it's really nice.”

The connection only added to the party-like atmosphere after Bergs sealed his win. The Belgian arrived in Paris needing to qualify just to reach the main draw. He had never won a main draw match at a major, nor had he cracked the Top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Now Bergs has an opportunity against 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov to make the fourth round, and the Belgian is No. 80 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, guaranteed to break into the Top 100 in the 52-week rankings after the tournament.

It is safe to say the crowd will be behind him.

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