Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘biggest weakness’ touted after shock Shanghai Masters exit

Carlos Alcaraz’s miserable record at the Shanghai Masters continued as he was beaten in the third round by Zizou Bergs.

The Spaniard looked to struggle with the court conditions at the Masters tournament as he was beaten 7-5, 7-6 by Bergs, who will now await the winner of Valentin Vacherot and Tommy Paul.

Bergs produced an impressive display to defeat Alcaraz, but the Spaniard was far from his best as a litany of unforced errors allowed the Belgian to capitalise.

Alcaraz had beaten Juan Manuel Cerundolo prior to his match with Bergs, and he will likely be rueing an early exit as several other top seeds have also fallen by the wayside.

21 seeds, including the likes of Arthur Fils, Flavio Cobolli, and Taylor Fritz, have all exited the Masters tournament at the third round stage or earlier.

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As for Alcaraz, he’s proved that he is nowhere near the finished article as he continues to work his way back from the wrist injury that kept him out of action for four and a half months.

Pete Odgers, who was watching Alcaraz vs Bergs for Sky Sports Tennis, was certain what the biggest problem the Spaniard had in his third round match.

After watching Alcaraz hit another unforced error following a strong first serve, Odgers said: “Today, that’s probably been his biggest weakness. The second shot after the serve is where the big errors come.”

As a result of his early exit at the Shanghai Masters, Alcaraz will now enjoy nine days off before his appearance at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia.

Following his stint at the exhibition tournament, Alcaraz is expected to play the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals, and the Davis Cup Finals before the end of the season.

His early exit has also confirmed that he will no longer be able to end the season as the year-end world No 1.

The Spaniard had an outside chance of earning the moniker, although he would have likely had to win in Shanghai, Paris, and at the ATP Finals.

Due to his defeat to Zizou Bergs, Alexander Zverev has been confirmed to end the season as the year-end world No 1.

The German confirmed his place in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters, where he will play Alexander Bublik, by defeating Quentin Halys in three sets.

With no Alcaraz to play in Shanghai, Zverev will be the overwhelming favourite to win the Masters tournament and continue his fine run the 2026 season.