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Zizou Bergs battles back to beat Ugo Humbert and clinch first ATP title in Eastbourne

Zizou Bergs with his trophy
Zizou Bergs with his trophySteven Paston, PA Images / Alamy / Profimedia

Zizou Bergs won his first tour-level title ⁠and became the first Belgian to win an ATP title ‌on grass in the Open Era on ‌Sunday, beating Ugo Humbert 3-6, ‌6-1, 6-4 in the rain-delayed Eastbourne ‌Open final.

The 27-year-old Bergs is set ‌to meet Humbert again at Wimbledon in the first round.

Bergs, who ‌had lost two finals before, ⁠ran to ‌hug his team after sealing the win.

"The ​results are not there, we keep focusing on improving. ​And that's why we're here today, standing with the trophy," Bergs told ⁠his team ​during the presentation ceremony.

A timely break to go 5-3 up secured the first set for Humbert. But ‌Bergs fought back in the second with a confident second serve, while the Frenchman made 16 unforced errors, jumping from three in the first set.

After taking the second set 6-1, Bergs continued to exploit Humbert's errors while targeting the ‌sidelines. The strategy paid off ​when Humbert hit a forehand ‌wide to send Bergs 4-3 up with a break.

Bergs held his serve to clinch victory, sealing the win when a frustrated Humbert ⁠hit the ⁠net.

Tennis

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