Tennis LIVE: Carlos Alcaraz facing 'negative thoughts' as star has vitals checked

It's been a Shanghai Masters full of upsets so far, and the remaining top seeds will be hoping to avoid following Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic out of the draw. No. 2 seed Alcaraz suffered a shock 7-5 7-6(4) defeat to Zizou Bergs and was visibly frustrated on the court. The Spaniard vented his frustrations to his box, and later declared that his level was “really bad”, and he was unhappy with “everything”.

Djokovic, meanwhile, lost his opening match here for the first time in his career and has since left Shanghai. And Arthur Fils, Taylor Fritz, and defending champion Valentin Vacherot all joined Alcaraz in losing on Monday.

Alcaraz’s loss has guaranteed Alexander Zverev the year-end No. 1 ranking. Currently sitting at No. 2 in the world, the German beat tricky 19th seed Alexander Bublik in the fourth round but confirmed that he was carrying an ankle injury.

Over in Wuhan, British No. 1 Katie Boulter suffered a straight-set defeat to t 11th seed Diana Shnaider in the first round. There is still British interest, as Sonay Kartal is through to round two as she continues her comeback from injury. And there were worrying scenes at the WTA 1000 event on Tuesday, when Katerina Siniakova had her vitals checked mid-match.

Follow all the action with our LIVE updates...

4 hours ago15:06 Archie Griggs

Rafael Nadal isn't happy with Carlos Alcaraz still being dubbed a 'prospect' in tennis, with the legendary Spaniard saying it makes no sense given what he has already achieved.

"He’s not a prospect, he has seven Slams so he’s definitely not just a promise for the future," said Nadal.

"He’s already a legend. If you look at the historic greats in Slams there aren’t many who have seven. Calling him a prospect makes no sense."

5 hours ago14:12 Yasmin Syed

Alexander Zverev has confirmed that he was struggling with his ankle again today, despite beating Alexander Bublik in three sets.

“Yeah my ankle was acting up unfortunately again which kind of is also understandable. I mean, I’ve played a lot of tennis which is always a good sign. That means I’ve been playing well,” he explained.

“But I’m starting to feel my body more and more. But happy to be through because it was a dififuclt match, he’s been playing amazing tennis this week. Again, I think the most important thing was that I won today.”

5 hours ago13:51 Yasmin Syed

Alexander Zverev has not looked fully fit today, but he’s still through to the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

The top seed came back from an early break down in the final set to beat Alexander Bublik 7-6(6) 4-6 7-6(1) in a tight contest.

Zverev has seemingly been struggling with an ankle issue, which also bothered him in the last round.

But he’s booked his place in the last eight, going down to the wire in a final set tiebreak.

The German claimed the first mini-break with a passing winner up the line, perfectly anticipating Bublik’s movements.

Some big serving helped Zverev pull ahead, and he won a cat-and-mouse exchange on the Bublik serve to extend his lead to 5-1.

The Kazakh suffered another mini-break, and on his first match point, Zverev sent down an ace to claim victory.

Alexander Zverev is into the last eight (Image: Getty)

5 hours ago13:46 Yasmin Syed

The winner of Alexander Zverev vs Alexander Bublik will be decided in a final-set tiebreak.

It's been another close set, with the two trading breaks early on.

In the previous round, Bublik blew set points in the opener to lose it in a tiebreak, but battled back to win in a third-set breaker. Will he do the same today?

6 hours ago13:32 Yasmin Syed

It's only been two days since Ashlyn Krueger lost in the final round of qualifying in Wuhan.

But she got into the main draw as a lucky loser anyway, and she's now into round two after beating home favourite Zhang Shuai 6-3 6-0 in an hour and eight minutes.

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6 hours ago13:17 Yasmin Syed

Alexander Bublik was first to break in this final set, but he's just given Alexander Zverev the break straight back on a double fault.

The German is still struggling though. He's been speaking to his dad in Russian, though it sounded like they were talking tactics after Zverev levelled the score at 1-1.

6 hours ago13:13 Yasmin Syed

Alexander Zverev is struggling to serve as this match goes on. Despite having more break point opportunities than Alexander Bublik in the second set, he still lost it, and looked uncomfortable.

The top seed had also been shaking out his leg towards the end of his last match against Quentin Halys, two days ago.

And it was after that match that Zverev confirmed he was feeling something in his ankle.

He told Sky Sports Italy: "I started feeling pain in my right ankle, and that's never a good sign. Since my injury in 2022, I've started to feel pain in my ankle when I overexert it.

"I have to manage it. It's the end of the season, and we're all tired. I'm tired too, and I'll have to learn to manage it."

That issue has clearly reared its head today.

Alexander Zverev seems to be struggling with an ankle injury (Image: Getty)

6 hours ago13:07 Yasmin Syed

Ashlyn Krueger got into the Wuhan Open draw as a lucky loser, and she's looking to make the most of it.

The American has just taken the first set 6-3 over Zhang Shuai on Centre Court.

6 hours ago13:04 Yasmin Syed

We’re going the distance in Shanghai, as Alexander Bublik has fought back to take the second set 6-4 over top seed Alexander Zverev.

The German kept the second set competitive, having some looks at the Bublik serve, but couldn’t recover after getting broken in the fifth game.

But Zverev has still looked physically hampered out there. He’d backed off a couple of service motions earlier on, and he had been shaking out his leg in his last match two days ago. Sky Sports commentators believe he’s struggling with an ankle injury.

"I'm surprised he's still playing on, but these athletes know their bodies," Naomi Broady said. "He wouldn't be out on court if he felt it was going to make it worse."

6 hours ago12:40 Yasmin Syed

After an hour and 25 minutes, we’ve seen the first break in this Alexander Zverev vs Alexander Bublik match.

And based on the body language we’ve seen from both men so far in the second set, you may not have thought it would be Bublik who would pounce first.

The 19th seed just saved two break points in a lengthy game that lasted more than five minutes.

And now, he’s broken first to take a 3-2 lead.

Bublik certainly isn’t venting at his team anymore.

7 hours ago12:23 Yasmin Syed

Alexander Bublik is not having a good time out here.

The Kazakh can't believe he let that first set slip despite holding four set points. Ever since Alexander Zverev took it 8-6 in the tiebreak, he's been ranting.

Bublik continued to vent his frustrations towards his team in Russian while Zverev stood at the baseline waiting to serve.

Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani told Bublik: "Please. He's waiting to serve." But the 19th seed is seeing red right now.

"I have zero luck playing tennis. What do you want from me? What do you want from me? Impossible," he vented, waving his arms in the air.

World feed commentator Nick Lester said: "He’s absolutely furious with the situation. He needs to somehow let it go."

Zverev, whose parents are Russian, will understand everything Bublik is saying to his camp.

Alexander Bublik said it was 'impossible' to play when the umpire asked him to stop ranting (Image: Tennis TV)

7 hours ago12:10 Yasmin Syed

This night session match between Alexander Zverev and Alexander Bublik has been neck and neck.

Bublik had to save a break point at 5-5, then Zverev had to save one in the next game – a set point.

But after 45 minutes on court, they went to a tiebreak.

The 19th seed got the first mini-break when Zverev netted a backhand.

Bublik earned himself some more set points as he moved 6-3 ahead.

Zverev saved the first two, both of which were on his own serve, and the Kazakh then sent the ball wide on his fourth set point to level the tiebreak at 6-6.

The German then sent a forehand past Bublik to give himself a set point. And he won a fifth straight point to take the opening set 7-6(6).

The top seed seems to be somewhat injured here, though. He was shaking out his leg during his last match against Quentin Halys. And twice in this first set – once at 3-4, once in the tiebreak – he’s pulled out of a service motion, wincing.

“Same problem again that we saw earlier in the set. I think it’s his right leg, might be lower back,” Naomi Broady said when Zverev winced at 3-6 in tie breaker.

Alexander Zverev has pulled up when serving a couple of times (Image: Tennis TV)

7 hours ago11:46 Yasmin Syed

Marta Kostyuk has suffered a shock opening-round defeat at the Wuhan Open.

Maria Sakkari came back from a set down to stun the No. 8 seed 4-6 6-2 6-2.

Kostyuk came into Wuhan ninth in the race to the WTA Finals. There are two spots left for grabs, and Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova are currently above her.

A deep run here would have helped the Ukrainian's chances of a sealing a first-ever qualification for the season-ending championships. But she's fallen at the first hurdle.

8 hours ago11:17 Yasmin Syed

Elise Mertens made it all the way to the semis in Beijing last week, but she's fallen at the first hurdle in Wuhan.

The 14th seed suffered a 6-4 7-5 defeat to world No. 42 Daria Snigur.

From the source Snigur takes the win \ud83d\udd25Daria Snigur defeats Mertens 6-4, 7-5 in Wuhan.#dongfengvoyahwuhanopen https://t.co/CiXVJdvLBl

8 hours ago11:03 Yasmin Syed

Maria Sakkari is fighting back in Wuhan. After losing the first set to 11th seed Marta Kostyuk, she's stormed through the second, winning it 6-2 to force a decider.

And Jelena Ostapenko is into round two after beating Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-1.

8 hours ago10:47 Yasmin Syed

Nikola Bartunkova suffered a scare when she dropped the second set to Lilli Tagger. But the Czech star has righted the ship, winning 7-6(4) 2-6 6-1 to reach the second round of the Wuhan Open.

Bartunkova has now won 10 of her last 13 matches, including a huge upset over world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in Beijing.

8 hours ago10:38 Yasmin Syed

In a battle of current and former top-10 stars, eighth seed Marta Kostyuk has taken the first set 6-4 over Maria Sakkari.

Kostyuk has a chance to qualify for the WTA Finals for the first time in her career, and will need a big run this week, plus some early losses for her rivals. The Ukrainian is, however, an early break down in set two.

And in a contest between two former top-10ers, Jelena Ostapenko leads Daria Kasatkina by a set and a break. Kasatkina had to come through qualifying to reach the main draw here, but it's the 2017 French Open champion who has a healthy 6-1 3-1 advantage.

9 hours ago10:20 Yasmin Syed

Elise Mertens reached the semi-final of last week's China Open in both singles and doubles.

But she's struggling in her opening match in Wuhan.

The No. 14 seed is trailing Daria Snigur by a set and a break.

Elise Mertens reached the semis in Beijing but is struggling in Wuhan (Image: Getty)

9 hours ago10:17 Yasmin Syed

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock third-round defeat at the Shanghai Masters yesterday.

The world No. 3 is currently set to compete in the Six Kings Slam, a three-day exhibition event taking place in Riyadh later this month.

For now, there has been no word that the tournament won't go ahead. But there are growing concerns following Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.

After that, Alcaraz will compete in the Paris Masters, beginning November 2. And he has qualified for the ATP Finals, taking place in Turin from November 15.

Alcaraz has also been called up to Spain's team for the Davis Cup Finals a week later.

9 hours ago09:53 Yasmin Syed

Nikola Bartunkova is hoping to carry her momentum into the Wuhan Open after beating Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Muchova on her way to the recent Beijing semi-finals.

But the Czech star has just been taken to a deciding set against 18-year-old Lilli Tagger.

Bartunkova won the first 7-6(4) in a tiebreak, but the Austrian teenager has turned things around, taking the second set 6-2. They've already been on court for two hours, and we're off to a decider.

9 hours ago09:34 Yasmin Syed

Yulia Putintseva came out on top in a battle of the qualifiers against Zeynep Sonmez.

The Kazakh took an early lead in the first set and even served for it, but she still lost it in a tiebreak.

But Putintseva has successfully come from behind to seal a 6-7(1) 6-3 7-5 in two hours and 51 minutes.

10 hours ago09:22 Yasmin Syed

No. 12 seed Sorana Cirstea, who is playing her final season on the WTA Tour and is now just weeks away from retirement, has suffered a shock opening-round defeat in Wuhan.

The Romanian star raced into an early lead against Chinese wildcard Guo Hanyu, taking the first set 6-1 and then nabbing a 3-0 double-break lead in the second.

But Guo came storming back, forcing a tiebreak. Cirstea took an early 6-3 lead in that breaker, giving herself three match points. But the wildcard reeled off five straight points to win the second set and force a decider.

Cirstea then served for the match in the final set, but the world No. 240 won the last four games in a row to seal a stunning 1-6 7-6(6) 7-5 victory, causing one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far.

That was the final WTA 1000 match of Cirstea's career.

From the source Absolute scenes in Wuhan 😲Guo Hanyu with an unbelievable comeback to defeat Cirstea!#dongfengvoyahwuhanopen https://t.co/rBBfMq55ud

10 hours ago09:06 Yasmin Syed

Katie Boulter battled to stay in it against Diana Shnaider, but after getting one early break back in the second set, she didn't win another game.

The 11th seed reeled off the last three games in a row to claim a statement 6-3 6-1 victory over the Brit.

It was tough out there, with bother players struggling with the conditions, but Shnaider settled in.

10 hours ago08:53 Yasmin Syed

Over at the Wuhan Open, 16th seed Maja Chwalinska is into the second round after beating Mayar Sherif 6-3 6-2.

And qualifier Katie Volynets won a three-hour battle against Him Birrell 6-7(1) 7-6(3) 6-3.

No. 12 seed Sorana Cirstea has been taken to a deciding set after racing through the opener against qualifier Guo Hanyu. It's 6-1 6-7(6) 3-3 on the Centre Court.

The all-qualifier clash between Yulia Putintseva and Zeynep Sonmez has also gone the distance, with Putintseva recovering after losing the opener despite serving for it. She's serving at 6-7(1) 6-3 1-2.

And teenager Lilli Tagger is contesting a tight first set against recent Beijing semi-finalist Nikola Bartunkova. She leads 6-5 on serve.

As for Britain's Katie Boulter, she's now 1-3 down to Diana Shnaider in the second set after losing the opener 6-3. Boulter was a double-break down but just got one back.

10 hours ago08:46 Yasmin Syed

It's been a sensational second half of the season for Arthur Gea. The Frenchman won his maiden title in Los Cabos in early August, and then reached the last 16 of the US Open as a lucky loser.

But the world No. 56 wasn't satisfied with that run to the round of 16, and wanted to go one better after reaching the same stage in Shanghai. He did just that, upsetting Jakub Mensik to make the quarter-finals.

"I’m really happy about the result. I had a little revenge to take from the US Open because I lost in this round. So I wanted to go far this week, and obviously, now it’s starting to be good and I hope it’s going to continue," the Frenchman said.

"I’m really just happy and yeah, I mean, I guess my family is awake now and see the results, so I’m really happy."

10 hours ago08:35 Yasmin Syed

Arthur Gea is competing in a Masters 1000 event for the very first time in his career – and he’s into the quarter-finals.

The Frenchman has enjoyed a stellar rise this season, starting the year outside of the top 200 and reaching a career-high of No. 56.

And he’s just caused another upset at the Shanghai Masters, taking out 13th seed Jakub Mensik 7-6(4) 6-4.

Gea had already shocked world No. 4 Ben Shelton and 30th seed Ugo Humbert here.

The 21-year-old is now through to the last eight in his maiden main-draw appearance at Masters level.

Gea now has a 13-2 match-winning record at tour level since late July, and he’s set to climb to No. 44 in the world at best next week.

Arthur Gea is into the quarter-finals on his Masters 1000 debut (Image: Getty)

11 hours ago08:26 Yasmin Syed

Katie Boulter has just lost a rollercoaster opening set 6-3 to Diana Shnaider in Wuhan.

There were three breaks of serve in set one, and Shnaider went 2/7 on break points, while Boulter converted 1/4.

It's windy out on Court 2, and both women have struggled to win games at one specific end of the court.

From the source Shnaider gets on the board ✅Diana Shnaider takes the first set 6-3 over Boulter in Wuhan!#dongfengvoyahwuhanopen https://t.co/pBlnc6fhQf

11 hours ago08:09 Yasmin Syed

Carlos Alcaraz had some animated discussions with his team during his straight-set defeat to Zizou Bergs yesterday. The second seed was heard complaining about some inconsistent ball bounces and the conditions, but Bergs has now suggested that there is nothing wrong with the tennis balls in Shanghai.

"Balls are completely the same obviously as the last tournament. It's not an issue with the balls," he said.

"I do think sometimes there is a little wrong bounce on the court that happens time to time. It's definitely there. I noticed in the warm up that this can happen sometimes.

"Maybe one of the 10 or 20 shots you have it can be a bad bounce. But I think the court and the balls are in general very good."

11 hours ago07:51 Yasmin Syed

Frenchman Arthur Gea has already stunned Ben Shelton and Ugo Humbert this week.

And he's looking for another scalp in Shanghai. The world No. 56 has just won a close first set 7-6(4) against 13th seed Jakub Mensik.

Arthur Gea is a set away from the quarter-finals (Image: Getty)

11 hours ago07:47 Yasmin Syed

British No. 1 Katie Boulter is in action at the Wuhan Open, where she's got a tough opening match against 11th seed Diana Shnaider. Boulter saved break points to level the score at 1-1 early on.

The 30-year-old has had some joy off the court this week in Wuhan, as she and her team found a stray puppy, who was then adopted by a family and named 'Pizza'.

12 hours ago07:22 Yasmin Syed

Yulia Putintseva is in action against Zeynep Sonmez on Court 1 in Wuhan.

But the Kazakh qualifier hasn't been happy with the levels of noise surrounding the court, and tried to complain while Sonmez served to stay in the opening set at 3-5.

Chair umpire Thomas Sweeney told her: "Yulia, you need to accept that there are much louder courts in the world. There are much louder… We’re going to keep going, we can talk in the changeover."

Putintseva played on, but started ranting again at the change of ends. "Can you do something or will you just see what's happening? It's been happening for the first set," she asked.

The umpire did take action, though. Another official came to the court and Sweeney told them about the excess noise around the court.

Putintseva was then broken when serving from the set, and from 3-5 down, Sonmez took a 6-5 lead. The Turkish qualifier came from behind to win the opening set 7-6(1).

12 hours ago07:05 Yasmin Syed

Maja Chwalinska stormed into the French Open final as a qualifier in the spring, and then skyrocketed into the world's top 25. But she has somewhat struggled to back up that huge result since.

Competing in Wuhan as the 16th seed, the Polish star has just taken a 6-3 lead over Mayar Sherif, and will be hoping to join today's earlier winners, Liudmila Samsonova and Dayana Yastremska, in the second round.

12 hours ago06:51 Yasmin Syed

No. 15 seed Tommy Paul will face Zizou Bergs at the Shanghai Masters tomorrow after Bergs stunned seven-time Major winner Carlos Alcaraz.

The American kept an eye on that match, and was impressed with what he saw from his next opponent.

"Excited. This is our second time playing. First time was in Indian Wells, played a pretty good match," he said of facing Bergs.

"He was playing great tennis today. He served super well and was playing super aggressive, so that's what I'll be looking for in the next match."

12 hours ago06:40 Yasmin Syed

It's been exactly one week since Alex de Minaur retired in the middle China Open final.

But the Aussie is now through to the quarter-finals in Shanghai.

The world No. 9 seemed to injure his adductor in that championship match against Novak Djokovic, having treatment but retiring one game into the second set after losing the opener in a tiebreak.

He then got a lifeline at the Shanghai Masters. Having already received a bye into the second round as one of the seeded players, De Minaur then got a walkover into round three when Alex Molcan withdrew.

He made a winning return to competition on Sunday, and he's now beaten 26th seed and US Open semi-finalist Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-4 to reach the last eight in Shanghai.

De Minaur saved a break point in that final game and then roared as he clinched victory.

Alex de Minaur is into the quarter-finals (Image: Getty)

12 hours ago06:37 Yasmin Syed

Holger Rune will continue his comeback at next week's ATP 250 event in Brussels after being granted a main draw wildcard.

A year ago, the Dane tore his Achilles tendon while competing at the Stockholm Open, and was sidelined fot the next 11 months.

Rune won his two comeback matches at the Davis Cup last month, but he's lost in his first two appearances on the ATP Tour, suffering opening-round defeats in Tokyo and Shanghai.

The world No. 4, who is due to fall out of the top 1,200 when Shanghai is over, has now taken a European Open wildcard.

13 hours ago06:28 Yasmin Syed

Defending champion Valentin Vacherot suffered his first-ever defeat at the Shanghai Masters last night.

A year ago, he arrived as the world No. 204 and had to go through qualifying to reach the main draw. The Monegasque star then went on a tear, beating Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune on his way to the final, where he defeated his own cousin, Arthur Rinderknech.

But it won't be another Vacherot fairytale this year. Returning as the 17th seed, Vacherot lost 6-4 6-2 to Tommy Paul and admitted: "I just played really bad, but also Tommy made me play bad.

"He just ran me around pretty well. I wasn't feeling great. I saw pretty quickly that I wasn't feeling great physically also."

Defending champion Valentin Vacherot is out of the Shanghai Masters (Image: Getty)

13 hours ago06:26 Yasmin Syed

Carlos Alcaraz suffered his earliest career exit at the Shanghai Masters on Monday as he was dumped out in the third round by Zizou Bergs.

The Spanish star hit too many unforced errors and was visibly unhappy with the conditions, ranting to his box and admitting he couldn't adjust.

And the second seed has now given a brutally honest assessment of his level, admitting it was tough to get out of a negative headspace

"Well, today it wasn't a good match for my side. I didn't play good. I would say it was a really bad level for me, and it was a really good level from him," he explained.

"I will try the next few days to think clearly. Right now, you know, all the negative thoughts comes to my mind and none of the positives. But I think I will take it, you know, the good things about, you know, having the matches."

Asked what he wasn't satisfied with, Alcaraz added: "Well, I would say everything. To be honest, I didn't play the way that I wanted to play, a lot of mistakes."

13 hours ago06:21 Yasmin Syed

Katerina Siniakova sparked concern at the Wuhan Open as she called the doctor to the court and had her vitals checked during a medical timeout. The doubles world No. 1 was also competing in the singles draw, where she came up against Liudmila Samsonova.

Having quickly lost the first set, Siniakova called the trainer when she went an early break down at 1-2 in the second.

They gave her some medication and checked her blood pressure, and she played on.

Siniakova was able to fight back, taking a close second set 7-5. But she ran out of steam again in the final set, and was seen blowing her nose during changeovers before losing 6-1 5-7 6-2.

Katerina Siniakova had her vitals checked mid-match (Image: Sky Sports)