Cruel draw!

The two Belgians are on fire, and unfortunately they’re facing each other in the first round at home.

Bergs got back to his best during the Asian swing, stringing together high-level matches and finally ironing out those huge lapses. His recent issue was just that he was playing a bit worse overall, except in spurts—one good set here or there—but on the whole his matches lacked level. He fixed that in Asia by flipping the strong-moment/weak-moment ratio. I saw a monstrous Zizou again, and with the indoor season starting he can really land some big blows. He also loves playing in front of his home crowd, whether it’s in the Davis Cup or at tournaments over there; that matters a bit less this time since he’s playing another local, but the motivation is still sky-high. Collignon is in form too, with massive Davis Cup wins even while cramping, then two successful indoor Challengers recently—he’s arriving ready and well adapted to the conditions. Two players at the top of their game right now who should really go at it. It’s their first meeting, and I’m still a bit behind on gauging Collignon’s ceiling and his preferred playing style; I get the sense he can do it all, with a lot of natural power. Zizou can do everything too. It’s pretty tricky between two compatriots as well...