The 2025 edition of the Shanghai Masters 1000 was very unusual for a number of reasons. The scorching heat and unusual humidity have put many players in difficulty causing several retirements, including that of defending champion Jannik Sinner, who was forced to surrender during his third-round match against Tallon Griekspoor and could no longer even walk due to cramps.
The Italian ace has lost many points in the ATP rankings and his chances of returning to the top of the ATP rankings by the end of this season have been significantly reduced, given that his main rival Carlos Alcaraz – who has decided to skip the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season – will have to defend far fewer points than him between now and November.
A very similar level
The lack of the two best players in the world in the final stages of this tournament has made the predictions much more uncertain. There have been several surprises and it is not easy to identify a real favorite, although Serbian legend Novak Djokovic is still in the competition and has a real chance of lifting his 41st trophy in a Masters 1000.
The former world number 1 will face the huge revelation of this tournament – Valentin Vacherot – protagonist of an electrifying ride and intent on surprising even his idol. The other semifinal will instead propose the challenge between Daniil Medvedev and Arthur Rinderknech, with the Russian favorite after showing signs of recovery in recent weeks.
On the latest edition of the show 'Sans Filet', top analyst Benoit Maylin highlighted how the men's tour is not going through any crisis: "It's not true that the ATP tour is worth nothing without Alcaraz and Sinner, it's a completely false theory. The truth is that these two young champions have created a wide gap compared to all the other players, just as it happened when Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were in their 'prime'.
If we exclude Spanish and Italian, we realize that all the other players have a very similar level to each other. It's no coincidence that Vacherot was able to beat a Top 20 in Shanghai."
