Bergs stuns Alcaraz in straight sets at the Shanghai Masters

Belgium’s Zizou Bergs pulled off the biggest upset of the Shanghai Masters so far on Monday, beating second seed Carlos Alcaraz 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) in the third round and ending the Spaniard’s strong run since his return from injury.

The 39th-ranked Bergs will play American Tommy Paul next, The Express Tribune reported, citing AFP.

“I didn’t feel good”

“Today wasn’t a good match from my side. I didn’t feel good,” Alcaraz told reporters, crediting Bergs for taking his chances and serving big.

“In a few important moments I didn’t play my best, and I would say there were a few moments that he was lucky,” the 23-year-old said of the two-hour match. He said he was “disappointed” by the error-strewn loss, which came a week after he won the Japan Open in Tokyo, and that he would go home and practise.

“Right now, you know, all the negative thoughts come to my mind and none of the positives, but I think I will take it, you know, the good things,” he said.

How the match turned

• First set: Bergs broke for a 3-2 lead, Alcaraz broke straight back, but the Spaniard double-faulted to give up a break point in the 11th game and lost the set when a volley fell short
• Second set: a frustrated Alcaraz won no points in the fourth and eighth games and vented to his corner, but forced a tie-break
• Finish: Bergs closed out the match on his first match point

“It’s a little disbelief and not feeling too much,” said Bergs, 27. “You’re just really in the moment, being focused on the points you have to play.”

Zverev set for number one

Alcaraz’s defeat means Alexander Zverev, the reigning French Open and US Open champion and current world number two, will replace Jannik Sinner as world number one by the end of the year. Sinner’s season is over because of a knee injury. Zverev, the top seed in Shanghai, faces Alexander Bublik in the last 16 on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Shanghai

• Stefanos Tsitsipas came from a set down to beat 11th seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in a match where a match point had to be replayed after a ball fell out of Fritz’s pocket a second time
• Daniil Medvedev beat qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6-2, 6-3 and will face Tsitsipas next
• Tommy Paul knocked out last year’s champion Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2
• Botic van de Zandschulp beat eighth seed Arthur Fils 7-5, 6-4
• Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud and Rafael Jodar also reached the last 16

“I could have done a few things easier, but I ended up being my biggest enemy,” Tsitsipas told the crowd. “I turned things around really well towards the end and became friends with myself and played some incredible tennis.”

Why it matters

Alcaraz had looked back to his best after months out with injury, and this loss hands the year-end top spot to Zverev. With Sinner already out for the season, the Shanghai draw has opened up for the remaining contenders. Read our reports on Alcaraz’s Japan Open win and Sinner’s season-ending injury.

This article draws on reporting by The Express Tribune and AFP.