Unseeded Belgian Zizou Bergs produced a shock 7-5 7-6(4) win over seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 32 at the Shanghai Masters on Monday. The result also confirmed Alexander Zverev as the ATP’s year-end world number one.
Alcaraz, the second seed, had recently defended his Japan Open title and was building momentum after a lengthy wrist injury layoff. He never found his rhythm in a scrappy contest that lasted two hours and two minutes.
Bergs breaks Alcaraz’s serve three times in Shanghai
Bergs, 27, played a composed all-court match and thrived in the quick conditions. He broke Alcaraz’s serve three times to claim the biggest victory of his career.
Bergs had lost their only previous meeting, in the last 16 of last year’s Japan Open. This time he showed no sign of intimidation, outplaying the 23-year-old in the key moments.
“This is something that has been very tough for me,” Bergs said, when asked about beating one of the biggest names on the ATP Tour. He added that he had often shown too much respect for players of that level, but said the experience of playing them was helping him. “To have this moment, for me it is a little bit of a relief. I feel like now I really can win against these guys.”
Alcaraz joins Djokovic and Shelton among Shanghai casualties
Alcaraz had been sidelined for nearly five months before returning at the US Open in late August, where he reached the quarterfinals. His exit in Shanghai added him to a list of high-profile names who have fallen early at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Masters 1000 event.
Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, and Ben Shelton, the US Open runner-up, also lost in the tournament. Their exits came in the same event that has produced an upset of one of the sport’s leading players.
Zverev’s route to year-end top ranking opens
The win guaranteed Zverev, 29, the year-end top ranking. He is the first German to achieve the feat and the oldest first-time player to do so. French Open and US Open champion Zverev’s path opened because Italian Jannik Sinner had not played since July 12, when he beat Zverev in the Wimbledon final, due to a knee injury.
Sinner, 25, missed the North American hard-court tournaments, the US Open and the ongoing Asian events. The five-time major winner will also miss the European indoor season and the ATP Finals in Turin, where he has lifted the trophy in each of the last two years.
Zverev described the season as a dream. “It’s been a fantastic season for me, winning in Paris and New York and knowing that I will finish the year on top of the rankings is just a dream come true,” he said. He will face Kazakhstan’s 19th seed Alexander Bublik in the round of 16 in Shanghai.
