Zizou Bergs walked off court in Shanghai on Monday with the finest result of his career, and in doing so settled the season’s biggest ranking question. The Belgian, ranked 39th, knocked out Carlos Alcaraz, seeded second, 7-5, 7-6(4) in the third round of the Masters 1000 event, a defeat that leaves the Spaniard unable to catch Alexander Zverev at the top of the standings.
Bergs was sharp from the outset on the quick court. He broke Alcaraz three times, took 79% of the rallies that began with his first delivery and finished with nine aces. His only lapse arrived with victory in sight: up 5-4 in set two and serving, he dropped his serve. In the tiebreak he went 3-1 up, opened the door with a double fault, then pulled clear from 4-4 and converted his very first match point.
The 27-year-old, whose maiden tour title came at Eastbourne this summer, admitted he has long shown the sport’s stars too much deference. Now, he said, he finally believes he can beat them rather than merely compete with them. Alcaraz, who had just retained his title in Tokyo, blamed a stream of unforced errors and said he never found a comfortable position on return. He joins Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton among the big names already gone.
For Zverev, the upset seals a milestone. The 29-year-old won Roland Garros and the US Open this year and is now guaranteed to be the first German to end a year ranked No. 1, as well as the oldest player to get there for the first time. He called it “a dream come true.” It helped that Jannik Sinner, out with a knee problem since he beat Zverev for the Wimbledon trophy, will not return this year and skips the season finale in Turin.
Zverev meets Alexander Bublik next in Shanghai, while Bergs, a quarterfinalist here a year ago, takes on Tommy Paul, who dethroned last year’s surprise winner Valentin Vacherot in straight sets.
