"When you grow up, you watch Rafael Nadal on the TV, you want to be him" - Zizou Bergs on 'living the dream' of facing his idol in Italian Open 1R

Belgian player Zizou Bergs faced defeat against his idol Rafael Nadal in the first round of the 2024 Italian Open. Bergs opened up about the overwhelming feeling of playing against someone he used to watch on TV afterwards.

Nadal put up a disappointing display in the first set of the match losing 4-6. The Belgian was strong in patches, but could not continue his showing in the next two sets. The Spaniard did enough to win the second and third sets 6-3, 6-4, respectively, and advance to the next round.

Nadal is now 7-3 in the season and the packed center court crowd witnessed a strong showing from him. He saved all five breakpoints that he encountered in the second and third sets.

After exiting the Madrid Open in the opening round, Bergs was hoping to register his first-ever Masters 1000 win in Italy, but Nadal stopped him to earn his 410th win in a Masters 1000 event.

Bergs, who believes this draw was a 'highlight reel', felt like he was living a dream playing against his idol.

"Yeah, before the start it's literally living the dream. When you grow up, you watch him all the time on TV, he's your idol, you have photos of you wearing the same clothes as him, want to be him," he said during the post-match press conference.

The Belgian was overwhelmed playing against Nadal, but was happy with his performance.

"We as a team did an amazing job, really played a game, not the opponent, not the event," Bergs said.

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Zizou Bergs saw flashes of prime Rafael Nadal on court during their 1R Italian Open 2024 clash

Rafael Nadal pictured at the 2024 Italian Open

Rafael Nadal has been inconsistent on tour in the past few years due to injuries. However, the Italian Open is his third consecutive tournament and, although still a shadow of his former self, he is showing signs of getting better.

Zizou Bergs was asked about his first-hand experience playing the Spanish legend and admitted that he saw flashes of prime Nadal.

"I didn't have the experience to practice with him up front. I've only seen him playing on the TV. But time to time today, I definitely saw some flashes where I'm saying, okay, this is Nadal, this is prime Nadal," Bergs said in the same press-conference.

The record 10-time Italian Open winner will have to put up a much better display in the second round when he faces seventh-seed Hubert Hurkacz on May 11.