Another favourite out: Alexander Zverev stunned by Rinderknech at the Shanghai Masters

Alexander Zverev said goodbye to the Shanghai Masters after falling to World No. 54 Arthur Rinderknech. The Frenchman came back from a set down to claim the victory 4−6,6−3,6−2. The German—a Shanghai finalist in 2019—had suffered a toe injury late in his first-round match, but he looked to be in good physical condition facing Rinderknech this time.

His debut had been a win against Valentin Royer (No. 76) by 6−4,6−4, where the German hit 12 aces and won 77% of points on his first serve. In the last game of that match, Zverev hurt his toe, and then limped to his courtside chair, removed his shoe, and called the ATP physio on court.

“I really don’t know what happened, so we’re going to check it out,” Zverev told ATPTour.com after the victory against Royer on Saturday. “There’s nothing with the bone, the physio told me. But we haven’t had a scan or anything like that. It might be a tear in a capsule or something like that, but we just don’t know.”

The World No. 3 returned to the court this Monday looking physically sound, but Rinderknech managed to put up a tough challenge. It was a chance for revenge for Zverev, who had been surprised by the Frenchman in the first round of Wimbledon a few months prior. Rinderknech had taken that victory in five sets, and Zverev had been eliminated from a Grand Slam in the first round for the first time since 2019.

This time, Zverev took command of the match from the start, getting an early break that proved key in giving him the first set after 44 minutes. However, the German's service then faltered, and he could not find solutions against Rinderknech's high level on serve—the Frenchman won 74% of points on his serve, compared to just 62% for Zverev.

After the match, the 30-year-old Frenchman was asked how he managed to turn the match around after losing the first set to the former World No. 2. "I'm not very sure (how I managed to turn the game around)," he said. "I fought like hell, tried everything. (Zverev) is such a good player... I knew it was going to be a battle. Starting in the second set... I was able to be offensive at the right moment, in a smarter way," he added.

With the elimination of Alexander Zverev from the tournament, Novak Djokovic (No. 5) remains the highest-ranked player still alive in the Round of 16. The only other Top-10 players are Alex De Minaur (No. 7) and Lorenzo Musetti (No. 9)—both in the upper half of the draw, meaning they could only meet "Nole" in an eventual final.

In addition to the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, other favorites have already been eliminated, such as Taylor Fritz (No. 4), Ben Shelton (No. 6), and Jannik Sinner (No. 2), the latter after retiring due to injury in the middle of the third set against Tallon Griekspoor.