Alexander Zverev upset by 54th-ranked Rinderknech in Shanghai Masters

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

World No. 3 Alexander Zverev received a painful and early exit at the hands of world No. 54 Arthur Rinderknech of France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the ongoing Shanghai Masters tennis tournament on Oct. 6, 2025, in China.

Despite taking control of the tempo in the opening set, Zverev slowed down in the last two frames, struggling against the laser-focused Rinderknech, who capped off the win in the blink of an eye.

After finding difficulty penetrating Zverev’s heavy forehand topspin, Rinderknech finally cracked the code midway through the second set by sending a barrage of flat strokes to neutralize the German’s signature weapon.

Aside from repelling Zverev’s topspin, the French netter also displayed a better serving performance, equalizing the final ace count at seven each before falling behind, 4-7.

Rinderknech was still in disarray after Zverev took the opener but recovered in the nick of time after scoring a service break.

From that moment, Rinderknech looked like a one-man wrecking machine, punishing Zverev with deep forehand down-the-line winners that continued to pile up until the third and final set.

In the third set, Rinderknech earned a break in the third game to jump to a 2-1 advantage, following it up with a service hold to extend his cushion to 3-1.

Zverev had his moments in the fourth and sixth games after nearly breaking back, but Rinderknech won the two tightly contested games to hold serve and widen the gap to seal the deal.

“I guess I am a bit lucky against him and able to play my best tennis,” said Rinderknech.

“I need to play my best tennis to beat a guy like Sascha, at No. 3 for many years, such a steady player and a very good player. I am very happy.”