Sydney, Jan 6 (.) Zizou Bergs stunned men’s world No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday as Belgium beat Canada 3-0 in Sydney to power into the mixed teams United Cup quarterfinals.
Belgium faced the tough task of needing to sweep second seed Canada to finish top of Group B and automatically qualify for the knockout stages.
After Bergs and Elise Mertens beat higher-ranked opponents in their respective singles matches, the pair then combined to overcome Victoria Mboko and Cleeve Harper 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 in a thrilling mixed doubles match.
The result means Canada is eliminated along with China, the group’s other team.
42nd-ranked Bergs gave Belgium a flying start after producing the biggest win of his career, rolling past Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 28 minutes.
Bergs stepped up in the key moments and showcased tenacity in fending off five break points to shut the door on any hope of Auger-Aliassime getting back into the match.
The 26-year-old put the foot down in the second set to ensure he did not squander his advantage like he had against China’s Zhang Zhizhen, who emerged victorious in a three-set classic on Saturday.
It was a disappointing performance from Auger-Aliassime, who had been crisp in a straight-set victory over Zhang on Monday as he prepares for an assault on an elusive major title at the Australian Open.
“Really happy with the performance,” Bergs said after beating a top-10 player for just the second time in his career.
“I actually forgot this was my second top-10 win, so that’s really huge, actually, especially with a convincing way of playing,” he said.
Mertens then clinched Belgium’s victory with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 triumph over Mboko in just over two hours.
After starting strongly, Mertens had to overcome a fierce comeback from 19-year-old Mboko, who had produced a fighting three-set victory over Zhu Lin earlier in the week.
Mertens, the world No. 19, has been in eye-catching form so far in Sydney, having lost just four games against Zhu in her first match of the tournament.
The 30-year-old Belgian rode her strong serve and outlasted Mboko, who has risen to No. 18 in the rankings.
“I’m most proud of how I started the beginning of the third set,” Mertens said. “I have a little bit of experience, but of course you always feel a little bit nervous. I’m very pleased.”
Reigning champion the United States has already qualified for the quarterfinals, along with Switzerland and Greece.
. XINHUA VAN .