Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz’s defeats prove the Shanghai Masters has to make a major change

The Shanghai Masters has once again thrown up a series of surprises during the early rounds of the 2027 tournament. Last year’s event was one of the stories of the season, as Valentin Vacherot defeated the likes of Holger Rune, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Bublik to win the tournament. This year, an incredible number of seeds have fallen by the wayside before the fourth round of the tournament. That includes the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, who lost to Zizou Bergs and Stefanos Tsitsipas, respectively, to crash out at the third round phase.