Eight minutes too long for a toilet break? Ex professionals react to Zizou Bergs’ timely interval against Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz was the main headline at the Shanghai Masters on the sixth day of action. His surprising 7-5, 7-6(4) loss to Zizou Bergs stole the headlines as one of the big title favourites crashed out. However, bubbling underneath the surface was a lot more than it first seemed, following what was a tie full of controversy.

After winning the first set with a late break, Bergs took his sweet time to get ready for the second set. He asked for a toilet break involving him changing his outfit, which was accepted by the umpire. He dashed off to complete this task, but he would not come out for a while.

Alcaraz pondered at the baseline for a matter of minutes while the crowd impatiently waited for the Belgian to return. Rules state that players have five minutes to complete this task once reaching the bathroom. Bergs was gone for eight but would return with no punishment or consequence waiting for him.

He would go on to complete one of the biggest victories of his career and sailed into the last-16 for the second consecutive year in Shanghai. He will take on Tommy Paul to make it back-to-back quarter-finals in this tournament, matching his best result at Masters 1000 level.

The win most certainly got most of the headlines and plaudits, but not everyone was quick to forget about the lengthy interval between the first and second set. Former British doubles player Jamie Murry took to X to share his displeasure and confusion over the situation. The 40-year-old had played numerous times in Shanghai and knew that the changing rooms were not that far away.

“Over 8 mins for a toilet break. Still not started back. Prob takes 20 secs to walk from centre court to the changing rooms in Shanghai. How is that acceptable/allowed?”

Underneath his post, he got a lot of reactions, including from former World No.4 Brad Gilbert, who outlined his own idea in how to combat this issue.

“Unfortunately happens all too often, there needs to be way clearer rules on comfort breaks, should only be allowed in my humble opinion on set breaks 3 mins or 5 mins with gear change, then if not ready lose a point every 30 seconds.”

This would see the time for players getting dressed and ready in between sets slashed, with players aware that they need to get back onto the court quickly to avoid the imminent consequences that could occur.

It would also be a fitting addition to the rules, following a trend that tennis are going for. This is speeding up matches, making it tick along at a faster pace. While this was attempted with the shot clock, many fans and pundits have other ideas about its effectiveness.

At the end of the day, Alcaraz was simply not at the races, and Bergs capitalised. He had recently defended his Japan Open title, but that was also not straightforward. He came out a dominant winner in each match, finding another gear as it went on but was regularly getting himself in trouble in the early stages of matches, although that was also down to the calibre of opponent he was facing and the high level they posed.

He collected a first ATP title since February, a statement following his long injury absence that he was ready to challenge for more. The task was seemingly made easier with Jannik Sinner's injury and Novak Djokovic's early exit, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion could not pounce on his rivals' misfortunes and came across some of his own.

His poor form in Shanghai continues with just one quarter-final from his three prior appearances. He will turn his attention to the Six Kings Slam next, in which he is a two-time runner-up, before the Pairs Masters and ATP Finals take his full focus.