Zizou Bergs pulled off a stunning straight-sets win to knock Carlos Alcaraz out of the Shanghai Masters. Alcaraz was the heavy favourite heading into the contest, but Bergs was better in big moments and picked his first win against Carlos Alcaraz.
Both sets went down to the wire, but the Belgian won 7-5, 7-6.
Alcaraz was always chasing Bergs in the contest. He was broken first by Bergs, but immediately pulled one back, making the score 3-3 in the first set; however, Bergs broke him again to take a 6-5 lead and then served out the set. In the second set, Alcaraz was broken at 5-5, but he again clawed back in the contest to make it 6-6. But Bergs didn’t let the setback affect him and won the tiebreak 7-4.
A Topsy-Turvy Comeback
Alcaraz made a return to tennis after a four-month layoff due to a wrist injury. He made a comeback at the US Open as defending champion but lost to Ben Shelton in the quarterfinal. He then participated in the Tokyo Open and defended his title. At the , he defeated Juan Cerundolo in the first round before losing to Bergs.
In terms of results, it could be said that Alcaraz has made a solid return to the circuit, but he hasn’t looked at his best in most of the games he has played. Even players who are ranked quite a few levels below him have been able to make him work hard for the wins. That’s not a bad thing, but Alcaraz has set such unprecedented standards that if he’s not dominating the matches, it feels like he hasn’t played at his full potential.
His serve hasn’t been as great as it was before the injury. He has lost the serve in almost every game, which is rare for a player of his quality. But his return games have been equally good, making up for the breaks. But if top players are not holding their serves enough, there will be days when they’ll struggle to maintain a clear lead over the opponent, resulting in close games and a few losses, which has been the case with Alcaraz.
But given that Alcaraz has made a return after a long layoff, the slight dip in form is totally understandable, and he should get better as he plays more matches.