“I am very happy to have managed to qualify,” he told Belga. “I am also very satisfied with this match. It was a great fight in a very nice atmosphere. With a great conclusion. I was down 5-2 in this tie-break of the second set, but I managed to overturn the situation by playing fantastic tennis I tried to impose my game, to be aggressive to prevent him from dominating with his forehand.
This is the first time that Zizou has managed to qualify for the final draw of a Masters 1000 tournament. The native of Lommel had already played in two so far, in Miami last year, and in Madrid, there two weeks, each time thanks to a wild card. And for his trouble, he will be entitled to a prestigious duel on Thursday against a certain Rafael Nadal (ATP 309), 37 years old, ten-time winner in the Italian capital.
“Being able to face Nadal is incredible!” he exclaimed. “Especially since he won't play much longer. I dreamed of one day being able to compete against a member of the 'Big Three'. So it will be Nadal and I have no words. It's so beautiful. Now, obviously, I'll have to find the belief that I can beat him and see the reality and actually tell myself that I'm going to face someone who is 305th in the world. It won't be easy, but if I manage to. put that in my head, maybe I can compete.”
