Cristian Garin was disqualified from Chile’s match against Belgium at the Davis Cup after being sent crashing to the ground by Zizou Bergs in a hugely controversial moment.
The bizarre incident unfolded after Bergs secured a break of serve in the 11th game of the third set, putting Belgium on the verge of winning the match.
Garin fired the ball into the net at the end of a long rally, prompting wild celebrations in the stands and on the court. Bergs reacted by sprinting towards his bench during the changeover, but ended up knocking his rival to the ground with force.
The 25-year-old immediately held his hands up to apologise as Garin lay on the court holding his face. It led to a lengthy pause in play, with the Chile team urging the umpire to disqualify Bergs for unsportsmanlike conduct.
He only received a warning, though, with the decision prompting outrage from Garin and the rest of the Chile squad.
He refused to play on, telling the umpire: “You don’t know what it’s like to get hit in the face after playing two-and-a-half hours in this damn match. I’m not going to play.
“You don’t have the guts to disqualify him but you’ll disqualify me. I’ve never had something like this happen. You don’t have the guts. He knocked me out, I fainted.”
Garin was ignored by the umpire, who was in no mood to listen to his demands and began to punish him for refusing to play. He initially handed down a warning, then a point penalty, and finally a disqualification which handed victory to Belgium.
The result saw Chile eliminated from the tournament in what was perhaps the most controversial end to a match in tennis history.
In a fiery press conference, Garin repeated his claim that he was knocked unconscious and accused the umpire of being ‘imprudent and insensitive’ for trying to force him to continue.
“I lost consciousness for three seconds,” he said. “I fainted and didn’t understand the situation. I would have liked to finish the match this way. They forced me to play when I had a contusion and was dizzy.
“We find what happened very imprudent and insensitive. I have no words to describe what happened. I’ve been watching tennis since I was born and I have never seen anything like it. I feel bad and I’m sorry the umpire made me play.”
Chile captain Nicolas Massu added: “The doctor is not neutral. He was more focused on continuing the match and the show, not on Cristian’s condition. This cannot be. We want to send a clear message to the ITF: this is a lack of respect.
“The doctor only spoke with the referee for 12 seconds and he is supposed to be neutral. We will speak with the federation president to see what can be done. We may have to appeal. We have done nothing wrong and we are eliminated.”
