Alexander Zverev has rarely done anything quietly this season, and Shanghai has been no different. The German won two Grand Slam titles in 2026, and he is now closing in on a ranking he has chased for years.

On Sunday, he beat Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. It was the 60th victory for the German this season, which marks the most number of wins gathered by any man on the tour , with just 14 losses. Zverev has even kept his body fit enough to not miss any major events and has played almost everything on the calendar. Sascha faces 19th seed Alexander Bublik in the round of 16, who is coming off a marathon win against Brandon Nakashima. 

The result mattered for the top seed, but it was only one of the stories that followed him this week. Here are the moments you may have missed.

Zverev edges closer to world No. 1 dream

It is only the third time Alexander Zverev has reached 60 wins in a season, after 2018 and 2024. The match wasn’t easy. The German broke early in the first and third sets, but he let two match points slip in the second-set tiebreak. Halys took it 10-8 and forced a decider. Still, Zverev did not face a single break point in two hours and 17 minutes. He now leads Halys 4-0 in 2026, although each meeting has been a fight. 

Zverev is on 9,720 points as of Saturday, 1,230 behind world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. The Italian has ended his season with a knee injury, so the door is open. Zverev cannot reach No. 1 before November 2. He can do it by winning Shanghai and reaching the Vienna semifinals, or by reaching the Shanghai final and winning Vienna.

He can also secure the year-end No. 1 honors by reaching the semifinals in Shanghai. On the men’s side, only Boris Becker has reached the top spot for Germany before, back in 1991. The 29-year-old linked the milestone to how he has planned his year. 

“I feel like this year I’ve been picking my places where I want to peak, and I feel like I did that quite well.” 

Practice court controversy follows Zverev in Shanghai

Zverev was accused of arriving late to a practice session and then keeping the court. He allegedly booked Court 5 for 10:30 and showed up at 11:50, while his hitting partner waited more than an hour. 

Ben Shelton and 17-year-old Cruz Hewitt, the son of Lleyton Hewitt, were reportedly due on the same court at noon. They were instead moved to Court 10, which is reportedly less accessible to fans.

The incident occurred after Zverev’s previous-round opponent took shots at him over his on-court conduct. Wu Yibing said after losing to him on Friday that some of Zverev’s behavior was unnecessary. The German had issues with the stadium lighting and even the net tape. He fell several times in the second set while moving, which the Chinese player felt was dramatic. Wu added that he did not get distracted, but he made his feelings clear. 

“Even though I didn’t get distracted, personally, I just don’t appreciate that kind of behavior.” Wu said it was his own interpretation. 

De Minaur calls for rule change Zverev may not like

Alex de Minaur defeated qualifier Rei Sakamoto 7-6(6), 6-4 to reach the round of 16. After the match, the world No. 9 was asked in the mixed zone whether the shot clock should apply between first and second serves. 

“Between first and second? Yeah, that’s fine. I think, ultimately, you would get away from people trying to take a little bit more time in between first serve and second,” De Minaur stated. His point is that a shot clock would stop players from stretching the gap.

De Minaur didn’t mention his name, but it was a no-brainer. Zverev was criticized at the US Open for bouncing the ball for long stretches before serving. He then went further and proposed a one-toss rule. 

“I think one of the things I would say personally is I would have only one ball toss. So, once you throw the ball, you got to serve, no matter what. If you decide not to, it’s a fault.” the Australian added. 

He explained that he believed some players would exploit a bad throw as an opportunity to repeat their routine, and the rule would put that notion to rest. De Minaur has his own history with the German, as he saved a match point to beat Zverev at the Laver Cup for the fourth time in his career. The Australian now faces Karen Khachanov in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.