Bergs Beats Alcaraz: Zverev Will Finish the Year as No. 1

Zizou Bergs beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-5, 7-6(4) in the third round of the Shanghai Masters 1000, in just over two hours. With the Spaniard's defeat, Alexander Zverev will finish 2026 as world No. 1.

The Belgian, ranked No. 39, broke Alcaraz's serve three times and won his first match against the Spaniard in two meetings. Alcaraz, world No. 3 and the second seed, came in on a seven-match winning streak and last week's Tokyo title.

The result ends the race for the top spot. Jannik Sinner has ended his season early because of knee problems, and Zverev, now No. 2, will pass him in the rankings in the coming weeks. He will become the second German to reach No. 1 after Boris Becker, who held it for 12 weeks in 1991, and the first to finish a season on top, something Becker never managed.

Zverev arrived in Shanghai with 58 wins this season, the most on tour, and with the first two Grand Slam titles of his career, won at Roland Garros and the US Open. A semifinal in Shanghai would have been enough to settle it on his own. The verdict came earlier, from a match he did not play.