Reilly Opelka and Zizou Bergs found themselves in a war of words on social media after Bergs reached the second round of the Paris Masters. The Belgian ace defeated America’s Alex Michelsen in three sets on Monday, and then celebrated with a moonwalk while Michelsen destroyed his racket on the other side of the net.
It was an entertaining contrast, and a video of their reactions was shared to Instagram. It caught Opelka’s attention, and the world No. 52 – who got into the Paris Masters draw as a lucky loser – made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of the celebration.
The morning after Bergs sealed a 6-3 2-6 6-2 victory, Opelka commented: “I’d rather lose 6-2 in the third than win 6-2 in the third and moonwalk.”
Bergs responded by taking shots at Opelka’s place in the tournament. Bergs recently made his top-40 debut and was able to get into the Paris Masters main draw through his own ranking.
Opelka, meanwhile, had to go through qualifying. He won his opening match and then pulled out of the qualifying event before he was due to face Aleksandar Vukic. But the American still got into the main draw as a lucky loser when some players pulled out.
He lost to Frenchman Corentin Moutet 3-6 7-5 6-1 on Tuesday. And Bergs told him: “I rather play than not play in Q’s,” adding a kissing emoji.
Ahead of the tournament, Sinner said: “The body feels good now. A bit tired, of course, playing five matches in a row and coming here is not much time to recover.
“But I’m happy. You know, I’m happy how I’m feeling. I recover every day better. So tomorrow is my first match. I’m very focused to hopefully play some good tennis also here. Then we see how it goes.”
This will be Sinner’s first appearance at the tournament since 2023. The four-time Major winner won his opening match here two years ago, beating Mackenzie McDonald at 2.37am, and then pulled out the following day. He skipped the Paris Masters altogether last year to rest.