World No. 39 Zizou Bergs pulled off the biggest victory of his career by defeating 7-5, 7-6 (4) to reach the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.
The Belgian’s stunning performance also officially confirmed that Alexander Zverev will end the season as the ATP year-end World No. 1.
Bergs closed out the contest with his ninth ace on his first match point, marking his first career win over Alcaraz in their second meeting. The Belgian struck 24 winners compared to 16 from Alcaraz during their round-of-32 match.
Bergs broke Alcaraz for a second time to claim a 6-5 lead in the first set, capitalising on his fourth set point after Alcaraz found the net. In the second set, Bergs broke again for a 6-5 lead but failed to serve out the match, allowing Alcaraz to break back and push for a tiebreak. Fresh off a title victory at the Japan Open, Alcaraz rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the tiebreak to level at 4-4, but Bergs won the final points to seal the victory.
Elsewhere in Shanghai, fifth seed defeated Dalibor Svrcina 6-2, 6-3 in his second match since his China Open disqualification. Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime ousted Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, while Stefanos Tsitsipas fought back to eliminate 11th seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Zverev caps historic season with first year-end top ranking
Alcaraz’s third-round exit assured that the 29-year-old Zverev will finish as year-end No. 1 for the first time, capping a remarkable season where he claimed his maiden Grand Slam trophies at the French Open and US Open.
“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. So much work and effort have been put into achieving this goal, especially after coming back from the ankle injury,” Zverev said.
With current No. 1 sidelined for the remainder of the season due to right knee inflammation, Zverev is set to overtake him before the year ends, becoming the oldest first-time year-end No. 1.