Seven-times Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock 7-5 7-6(4) defeat by unseeded Belgian Zizou Bergs in the Shanghai Masters round of 32 on Monday, a result that also confirmed Alexander Zverev as the ATP’s year-end world number one.
Fresh from defending his Japan Open title and building momentum after a wrist injury that sidelined him for nearly five months, Alcaraz never found his rhythm in a scrappy two-hour, two-minute contest.
The second-seeded Spaniard joined 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and US Open runner-up Ben Shelton among the high-profile casualties at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Bergs produced a composed all-court performance, thriving in the quick conditions as the 27-year-old broke Alcaraz’s serve three times to clinch the biggest victory of his career.
Bergs had lost their only previous meeting, falling to Alcaraz in the last 16 of last year’s Japan Open, but showed no signs of intimidation as he outplayed the 23-year-old in key moments.
“I often have too much respect for these guys, which is part of my culture and I’m proud of that. But it gets a little bit in the way when you have to play them…,” Bergs said.
“The more experience you have practising against them and playing matches, the more it becomes the new standard a little bit. 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 conceded he was below his best.
“I didn’t play the way that I wanted to play. A lot of mistakes. I didn’t find a good position on the return,” Alcaraz said.
“Obviously, credit to him. I would say he served really well.
“But when I got into the rhythm, when I got into the point, I made a lot of mistakes. I wasn’t feeling comfortable with my shots. So, I’m really disappointed with today’s match because I didn’t find the solution. I just made a lot of unforced errors.”
‘DREAM COME TRUE’
The upset also guaranteed French Open and US Open champion Zverev, 29, the ATP’s year-end world number one ranking, making him the first German and the oldest first-time player to achieve the feat.
Zverev’s rise to year-end number one was aided by the absence of five-times Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner, who has not played since beating the German in the Wimbledon final in July due to a knee injury and will miss the rest of the season, including the ATP Finals in Turin.
“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,” said Zverev, who will face Kazakhstan’s 19th seed Alexander Bublik in the round of 16 in Shanghai.
“So much work and effort have been put into achieving this goal, especially after coming back from the ankle injury (at the 2022 French Open semi-finals).
“I look forward to finishing the season in style.”