The Rolex Shanghai Masters (上海大师赛) an ATP 1000 event, recently wrapped up in Shanghai, China. Qualifier Valentin Vacherot defeated Arthur Rinderknech in the final 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win his first career title. Vacherot is now ranked No. 40 in the world as a result. Click here to check out the draw. Below are five takeaways I have from the event.
#1. Valentin Vacherot came to play: En route to his first career title, Valentin Vacherot defeated (4) Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals. He also defeated (10) Holger Rune 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. To beat that kind caliber of talent and be a qualifier is mighty impressive. Vacherot showed a lot of resiliency to overcome first set losses in order to win the tournament. He was even two points away from not getting out of the qualifiers, but he found a way to escape. Click here to read more about that. It'll be fun to see how the rest of the season goes for Vacherot and whether or not he can make some noise at the Australian Open come January.
#2. Novak Djokovic is fading: Ideally, with Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing and Jannik Sinner retiring in the round of 64, this is a tournament Novak Djokovic should have won. This was all teed up for Djokovic and instead he fell short. This tournament was a sad reminder that the days of Djokovic being at the top of the sport are behind him and it's now just about playing for the love of the game.
#3. Without Sinner and Alcaraz, there is parity: Right now, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the clear top two players in the world. What this tournament showed is that when you take those guys out of the equation, anybody can win. It really is a Sinner/Alcaraz vs. the field situation in men's tennis right now. In earlier eras, one of the other top five or even top ten guys would have found a way to win this tournament. But right now, the gap between the rest of the top ten and the rest of the field is narrow enough that a lot of upsets are bound to happen. Which I think makes for a more interesting sport.
#4. Daniil Medvedev is bouncing back: Daniil Medvedev had a strong performance, reaching the semifinals before losing to Rinderknech 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Medvedev came in as the (16) seed in the tournament and defeated (7) Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, which was a nice win for him. He is now ranked No. 14 in the world. In this era of increased parity, a window is opening for Medvedev to make some deep runs at these bigger tournaments. Can he capitalize? That's the question.
#5. Learner Tien is on the rise: Learner Tien had a strong tournament, reaching the Round of 16 before losing to Medvedev 6-7, 7-6, 4-6. Tien nearly reached the quarterfinals, bouncing back from a disappointing 1st round exit at the US Open. At just 19 years of age, the future is bright for Tien and this tournament was a reminder of that. I look forward to seeing how he finishes out the season.
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