Shanghai turns into a graveyard for Alcaraz's dreams: shock exit and the loss of the ranking throne | Goal.com
Carlos Alcaraz is out of the Shanghai Masters, beaten in straight sets by Belgium's Zizou Bergs in the second round. The Spanish seed's early exit handed his opponent revenge for a defeat suffered just one week earlier.
Bergs, the world number 39, took it 7-5, 7-6, holding firm in the moments that mattered. Alcaraz piled up the errors and never found his rhythm, departing the tournament nowhere near his best.
Shanghai was not the only casualty. Alcaraz's defeat also settled the race for the year-end number one spot in the ATP rankings in Alexander Zverev's favour.
Only a week ago these two met in the round of 16 in Tokyo, where Alcaraz won on his way to the title. Bergs arrived in Shanghai a different proposition and turned the tables.
Taking the first set
Both men struggled to settle on serve early on, with some games dragging on and neither finding a breakthrough.
Everything shifted in the 11th game. Bergs pounced to move ahead, and Alcaraz, wrestling with the flow of play and the condition of the balls, let his frustration out: "I can't play by instinct. I can't play like this."
The Spaniard saved two set points. Bergs kept coming and closed out the opener 7-5, piling the pressure back on.
Alcaraz tries to come back
Nine minutes of play was lost in the second set when Bergs disappeared to the locker room. He came back with his rhythm intact.
Alcaraz, by contrast, fell away badly: 21 unforced errors against seven winners. Bergs stayed balanced and offered nothing easy.
At 5-5 the Belgian earned another break and took it, leaving Alcaraz staring down the barrel. The Spaniard hit straight back, breaking in the following game to force a tie-break.
Bergs seized the initiative when it counted, edging clear to take the set 7-6 and a valuable win. He now waits on the winner of American Tommy Paul and Frenchman Valentin Vacherot.
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