Unseeded Zizou Bergs beat second seed Carlos Alcaraz 7-5, 7-6(4) at the Shanghai Masters on Monday, the biggest win of his career. The upset ended Alcaraz’s week and, with Jannik Sinner out injured, confirmed Alexander Zverev as the ATP year-end world No. 1.
Shanghai, China: Zizou Bergs had never beaten Carlos Alcaraz. On Monday he did it in straight sets. The 27-year-old Belgian, ranked 39th, beat the second seed in a match that lasted two hours and three minutes, and he did it by outserving and outhitting one of the best players in the sport.
Breaks, aces and a clean serve
Bergs took the first set 7-5 and then held his nerve through a tense second. He broke Alcaraz’s serve three times from four chances, hit nine aces and finished with 24 winners to Alcaraz’s 16. He also won 37 of 47 points on his first serve, 79 per cent, on a fast court.
The tie-break that tested his nerve
The second set brought the tension. Bergs served for the match, only for Alcaraz to break back and drag it into a tie-break. Bergs led 3/1, double-faulted, and then won three straight points from 4/4 to close it out 7-4. He converted his first match point with his ninth ace.
“Now I really can win against these guys”
Afterwards Bergs spoke about the habit he had finally shaken. He said he had always shown too much respect for the top players, and that this win told him otherwise: “I feel like now I really can win against these guys.” The win levelled their head-to-head at 1-1.
It also fits a season of quiet progress. Bergs won his first ATP Tour title on the grass at Eastbourne, and a year ago in Shanghai he reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, beating Novak Djokovic along the way.
Alcaraz’s week ends, Zverev’s year is settled
For Alcaraz it was a sharp halt. He arrived in China on the back of his Japan Open title defence in Tokyo and had opened here with a straight-sets win over Cerundolo, in a comeback season after a long injury layoff.
The ripple reached the rankings. Jannik Sinner had already ended his season with a knee injury, and with Alcaraz gone, no one can now catch Alexander Zverev. The German, who had been edging closer to the year-end No. 1 spot a day earlier, is confirmed at the top, and the ATP notes he becomes the first German man to finish a season there.
Paul awaits
Bergs now meets Tommy Paul in the fourth round. Paul had beaten defending champion Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2. A win would match Bergs’s quarter-final run of last year.
Result: Zizou Bergs (BEL) bt Carlos Alcaraz (ESP, 2) 7-5, 7-6(4) in 2h 03m. Rolex Shanghai Masters (ATP Masters 1000), third round, Monday 12 October 2026.
Next: Bergs v Tommy Paul (USA, 15) in the fourth round.
