Belgium’s Zizou Bergs Claims Final Canadian Trophy of 2023 in Drummondville

The final professional event on Canadian soil in 2023 took place last week in Drummondville, QC, as the ATP Challenger Tour made one final stop in the Great White North. 

Zizou Bergs, the sixth seed from Belgium, won the singles title, defeating second-seeded Australian James Duckworth in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. 

It is the sixth title of Bergs’ career. He dropped just one set during his run, that being in the quarter-finals when he knocked off top seed Dominik Koepfer in the thriller 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The Belgian received a free pass to the final when Michael Vrbensky withdrew prior to their semifinal. 

Duckworth had a tough run to the final, needing three sets to get through each of his first three matches. 

The Canadians failed to reproduce their success from the week before in Calgary, as none of the seven in the singles draw managed to reach the quarter-finals.  

Read also: Throwback to Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Three-Title Run in October 2022

Alexis Galarneau, Liam Draxl, Dan Martin, and Benjamin George all won their opening matches before falling in the second round. 

Draxl did nearly lift a trophy for the second consecutive week, reaching the doubles final with Brit Giles Hussey, but the pair lost 10-8 in the match tiebreak to second-seeds Andre Goransson and Toby Samuel. 

Only Draxl and Kelsey Stevenson, partnered with another Brit Scott Duncan, got out of the first round of the doubles. Draxl and Hussey then defeated Stevenson and Duncan in the second round.