In the Shanghai Masters men’s tennis tournament being held in China, top player Carlos Alcaraz of Spain suffered a shocking defeat on Monday.
In the third round of the men’s singles, Alcaraz, who is ranked second in the tournament, lost to Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 5-7, 6-7 (4/7).
Bergs, who completed the match in 2 hours and 3 minutes, recorded the biggest victory of his career. It is noteworthy that Alcaraz is ranked third in the world and Bergs 39th.
This was the second time the two had met, and Bergs has leveled the head-to-head at 1-1 with his first win. Alcaraz, who had been out of action for four months due to a wrist injury on his right hand and has been playing since August, has exited with his second defeat in his third match.
Alcaraz, who lost in the quarterfinals at the US Open in September, then went on to win the Japan Open earlier this month. He has now been eliminated in the third round of the Shanghai Masters.
In other matches, Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, ranked 4th, defeated Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta in sets of 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, ranked 5th, beat Czech Republic’s Dalibor Svrcina in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
France’s Arthur Fils, ranked 8th, lost to the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets, 5-7, 4-6. America’s Taylor Fritz, ranked 11th, also fell to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6.
Spain’s Rafael Jodar, ranked 12th, defeated Czech Republic player Jiri Lehecka, ranked 22nd, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Norway’s Casper Ruud, ranked 20th, stunned American Learner Tien, ranked 14th, winning 6-4, 7-6 (7/3). Following this, in the round before the quarterfinals, Ruud will face Aliassime, Medvedev will face Tsitsipas, and Botic van de Zandschulp will take on Jodar.
No. 1 spot: Zverev makes history
Germany’s Alexander Zverev is set to move up to the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings by the end of this year.
Alcaraz’s defeat at the Shanghai Masters, along with world No. 1 Italy’s Jannik Sinner not participating in consecutive tournaments, has paved the way for Zverev’s rise.
Zverev is set to create a historic record as the first German player to finish a tennis calendar year as the world No. 1. Zverev, who has previously finished the tennis calendar year inside the top 10 eight times, is set to reach the top spot for the first time.
Moreover, over the past 27 years, Zverev also takes pride in becoming the oldest player to finish the calendar year at No. 1. Until now, that distinction belonged to America’s Andre Agassi (1999 - 29 years, 214 days), but Zverev has now surpassed it (2026 - 29 years, 217 days).
This year turned out to be an excellent one for Zverev. The French Open and US Open champion, Zverev also reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and in all four Masters tournaments, which is noteworthy.