DAVIS CUP FINALS

November 17, 2025

Steve Darcis

Zizou Bergs

Raphael Collignon

Alexander Blockx

Sander Gille

Joran Vliegen

Team Belgium

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference with Team Belgium.

Question for the captain. How have the preparations been going so far? What do you think your options are at this Davis Cup Finals?

CAPTAIN STEVE DARCIS: Yeah, the preparation is great. I think all the players are in great shape, really motivated to go on court to start tomorrow.

All the lights are green, and really looking forward to start.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Steve, in the last round you beat one Grand Slam nation. Ready to beat a second one?

CAPTAIN STEVE DARCIS: We are ready. I don't know if we will do it. At least we going to do the job. We going to fight like crazy, like always. I'm sure the players who's going to play, who's going to be on the court, will be doing good.

On the bench, we will do the work also. It's going to be a great day, I'm sure. We going to try to do our best and see how it goes.

Q. Zizou, you've had some big results this year. Just talk about your confidence going into this tie against France.

ZIZOU BERGS: Yeah, I think we have all done some great wins this year, which gives confidence. Those are important steps in your individual career to become a better tennis player. That definitely helps.

Now it's no guarantee obviously that you keep on getting those wins in against great players. The only thing we can do now is prepare in the best possible way and do our job on court, bring out the maximum what's in us on that given day.

Q. Captain, you were known as Mr. Davis Cup as a player. You've played the competition a lot. Now you're the captain. How are these weeks different for you as a captain than when you were a player? How do you bring your love and passion of Davis Cup to the younger players in the team?

CAPTAIN STEVE DARCIS: Yeah, first the competition change a lot. Before it was different format. I think the atmosphere was a little bit better. Now it's a bit different. You play every team in the same place, which is also good. It's just different.

For my side, I try to bring my experience. I try to talk a lot to the players and have a great atmosphere in the team. I think that's what we are doing really good at the moment. I think the guys are happy to be together. We have a great team spirit. This is our big weapon, I think.

Q. Raphael, obviously amazing performance in the qualifiers. How do you bring that forward? What's it like now being here in the Final?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Yeah, what I did in Australia was great. I gain a lot of experience about Davis Cup, winning my first matches there. So I try to bring this experience here.

I know a little bit more now about the competition, what it is to play for my country. So I will try to bring this tomorrow and fight for every ball and let's see.

Q. Alexander, you're the youngster on the block. Talk about being part of a team like this in Davis Cup.

ALEXANDER BLOCKX: Yeah, I may be young, but I'm the tallest of them all (laughter). That helps a little bit.

But no, I can learn a lot from them. They have played a few more encounters than me. Yeah, every time that I can participate, I see it as a bonus for me at the moment. It's really nice to be able to be here at the Finals because that's the highest level you can be at in Davis Cup.

Yeah, I enjoy a lot. I'm there. If I need to play, I'm always ready. Yeah, I'm feeling really good right now.

Q. Sander, can you give us a sense of the team spirit in the camp at the moment.

SANDER GILLE: It's wonderful. We're laughing from morning till evening. It's been the case for the last few encounters. It just keeps getting better.

I think it's a nice balance. We've got some young guys, about the same age, so they know each other for a long time. I think it's just a great atmosphere like that.

I think the motivation helps us, as well. It's not only fun and games. We are trying really hard and I think we're pushing each other to the limit while at the same time having fun. I think it's the best ingredient for success. That's why we're doing well.

Q. Joran, you and Zander played together for many years. You now only play together at Davis Cup. Is it easy to get back into the swing of things each time you team up together again?

JORAN VLIEGEN: We play together for a long time. Those automatisms, they never go away. Depends how long we're in between Davis Cup. That's how many days it takes to get used to it again. In February it was quite quickly. Maybe now in Australia, took like maybe one or two days.

But yeah, they will remain. We know what each of us will do on the court. We can rely on each other and give our best for the team.