Paul ends Bergs' Shanghai run after Alcaraz upset, faces Medvedev next

Two days after the biggest win of his career, Zizou Bergs is out of the Shanghai Masters. On Wednesday, 15th seed Tommy Paul beat the Belgian 7-6(5), 6-4 in the round of 16. It was Paul's second straight-sets win of the week, and he will play Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals.

Bergs misses his chances at 5-5

The opening set was where Bergs, ranked No. 39, had his best chance. At 5-5 he had five break points on Paul's serve. On one of them he hit an acrobatic jumping smash that got the crowd going, but he could not convert any of them. Sporza and Tennis Watcher both point to his backhand errors as the reason. In the tiebreak Paul was steadier and won it 7-5.

The second set started badly for Bergs. He went 0-40 down in his first service game and called a medical timeout for treatment on his shoulder and elbow. Paul broke there and again soon after to lead 4-0. Bergs did not give up. He won three games in a row to close to 4-3, but Paul held his serve after that. Serving at 5-4, the American took his first match point.

Bergs showed fight once again. Even with the physical problems and a 4-0 deficit, he would not go quietly. Paul's strong serving and calm head in the key moments made the difference.

It is the second time this year that Paul has beaten Bergs. In March at Indian Wells he won 6-1, 6-2. This match was much closer, but the outcome was the same.

A week Bergs will remember

Bergs still leaves China with the best result of his career. In the third round on Monday he beat second seed Carlos Alcaraz 7-5, 7-6(4). That result also meant Alexander Zverev was certain to finish 2026 as the year-end No. 1.

How serious the shoulder and elbow problems are is not yet known. That will matter for the indoor events that close out the season in Europe.

Tsitsipas reaches 400 wins where it all began, ousts Darderi in Shanghai

Paul vs Medvedev in the quarter-finals

Paul came into the match after beating defending champion Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2 in the third round, and he still has not dropped a set in Shanghai. According to The Sports Encounter, this result means he has now reached the quarter-finals at all six hard-court Masters 1000 events on the calendar.

His next opponent will be his hardest test yet. Fifth seed Medvedev won the Shanghai title in 2019 and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 7-5 on Wednesday without facing a single break point. Medvedev's defence and deep return position will make Paul work hard for every point on serve.

Their quarter-final is on Thursday's schedule, after Arthur Géa vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Zverev vs Alex de Minaur. The fourth quarter-final is Rafael Jódar against Casper Ruud.