Gabriel Diallo reached a career milestone earlier this year by winning his first ATP title in ’s-Hertogenbosch during the grass swing. Unfortunately, he was unable to carry that momentum forward, as he repeatedly ran into tough draws against top players in the early rounds. That led to a difficult stretch of seven straight tournaments without managing back-to-back wins.
After a stretch of unfortunate draws and tough losses, Diallo is finally catching some breaks at the Shanghai Masters. In the third round, he was effectively shielded from top-10 contender Ben Shelton, as David Goffin upset Shelton in the second round before retiring early against Diallo. What could have been a difficult round of 16 challenge against experienced top-30 player Francisco Cerundolo has instead turned into a far more favorable matchup with Zizou Bergs.
Diallo’s 2025 season has already been highly memorable and filled with breakthroughs on the main tour. One of the standout moments was reaching his first Masters quarterfinal in Madrid, a milestone he achieved outside his usual comfort zone. That run was helped by some good fortune as well, as he entered the main draw as a lucky loser and faced opponents struggling with fitness issues, including Kamil Majchrzak and Grigor Dimitrov.
Zizou Bergs’ fitness has been a concern in recent months, contributing to a dip in form. He even dealt with a hamstring issue that required treatment during his third-round match at the Shanghai Masters. Fortunately for him, the problems surfaced only after he had already established control, closing out a 7-6, 6-3 win over Francisco Cerundolo.
The Belgian, much like his opponent Gabriel Diallo who defeated him in the ’s-Hertogenbosch final earlier this year, lost significant momentum after the grass swing. Unlike Diallo, whose struggles came from tough early-round draws, his decline was driven by a drop in performance and recurring fitness problems. That makes his current run at the Shanghai Masters a timely result, helping restore confidence and giving him a chance to get his season back on track.
Despite a poor stretch in recent months, 2025 has still been a highly successful season for Bergs. Highlights include runner-up finishes in Auckland and ’s-Hertogenbosch along with his long-awaited top-50 debut. His current run in Shanghai adds to that list, marking his first-ever round of 16 appearance at Masters level. Thanks to this result, he is set to climb to a new career-high ranking and could even break into the top 40 for the first time.
Head-to-head: Gabriel Diallo leads 3-0. While both players are capable of troubling each other, Diallo has clearly held the upper hand in this matchup, winning all three of their previous meetings, each on a different surface. At the moment, he is also showing stronger form and fitness, which once again places him as the favorite against Zizou Bergs.
