Zizou Bergs’ Dad Reveals Why Jannik Sinner Approached His Son to Team Up for Monte Carlo Masters

After two back-to-back Masters 1000 wins, Jannik Sinner could end up skipping the Monte Carlo Masters singles, although the tournament will be crucial if rankings are considered. The Italian completed the Sunshine Double by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final and Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final, becoming the eighth man to do so and the first one since Roger Federer back in 2017.

Last year, Sinner was forced to skip the first four Masters 1000 events because of the doping ban and made his comeback at the Italian Open. In Monte Carlo, Carlos Alcaraz, who has 4,300 points to defend on the clay swing, will be entering the event as the defending champion. At present, Alcaraz and Sinner have 13,590 and 12,400 points, respectively.

The third Masters 1000 of the season in The Principality is scheduled to start on April 5, and while Sinner has yet to clarify about his participation in singles, he has entered the doubles draw and will play alongside Zizou Bergs, whose father, Koen Bergs, revealed that it was the World No.2 who approached his son to pair up for the first clay-court Masters 1000 of the season.

Zizou and Jannik played each other for the first time at the Paris Masters 1000 last year. This year, they trained together in Indian Wells, and afterward, Jannik asked him to play doubles together in Monte Carlo. Zizou would never have dared to ask Sinner, so he was quite surprised. I think Jannik likes Zizou’s attitude and personality.

Koen Bergs told Ubitennis

Sinner defeated Bergs when they played in the third round of last year’s Paris Masters, and later reached the final and defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime. The former World No.1 is on a 17-match winning streak in Masters 1000s, last losing a match in the third round of last year’s Shanghai Masters.

We know it’ll be Jannik’s decision whether or not to actually play doubles. He just won the Sunshine Doubles, so he might want to rest a bit. On the other hand, he could gain a lot of points, given that he didn’t participate last year. Let’s wait and see. There’s still time to see what he decides.

Koen Bergs added

Sinner is a two-time semifinalist in Monte Carlo, reaching the stage in 2023 and 2024. So far in his career, Sinner has added one clay-court title to his name: the 2022 Croatia Open by beating Alcaraz. In the other two finals on the surface, he lost to Alcaraz in the finals of last year’s Italian Open and the French Open.

Samuel Lopez on the rankings battle between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

During his interview with Eurosport, Carlos Alcaraz‘s coach, Samuel Lopez, has made it clear that the World No.1 will be playing five back-to-back tournaments on the clay swing. His team would have considered making Alcaraz skip the Monte Carlo Masters had things gone better in Miami, where he suffered a third-round exit. Lopez also addressed the No.1 ranking battle between his pupil and Jannik Sinner.

No. 1 is a consequence of consistency over the whole year. This is a long-distance race. We’ll see, at different moments, one defends points, then another does. In the end, whoever finishes as No 1 will deserve it. There’s no need to give it more importance than it has.

Last year, Alcaraz featured in four tournaments on the clay swing (Monte Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open, Italian Open, and the French Open). He was forced to skip the Madrid Open due to an injury.

Except for the ATP 500 event, the seven-time Grand Slam champion emerged triumphant in the three big events. The two-time Roland Garros champion has so far won 11 titles on clay.

Also read: Oleksandra Oliynykova Refuses Handshake With Russian-Born Polina Kudermetova in Charleston 

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