Shanghai ATP Masters 1000

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https://en.as.com/other_sports/shanghai-masters-1000-matchups-draw-favorites-and-notable-absences-from-the-tournament-n/

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https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/46474348/after-layoff-shelton-loses-opening-match-shanghai-masters

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Fritz is so good as a match manager. He wins 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 in a very physical match vs Morozsan. Morosan pretty much outplayed Fritz until the 2nd set tiebreaker. Fritz hung in there are willed his way through it. Particularly impressive given the very tough matches he got through last week in reaching the Final, where he lost to Alcaraz. Very very tough loss for Morozsan.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aYv9fN5Zc3P1gbwQA

[stotty]

The field looks a bit thin compared to other recent ATP 1000 events. With Sinner out, Novak must be thinking title number 41 is up for grabs. As a tennis pundit recently pointed out, the gap between the top two players and the rest of the top five now feels wider than the gap from five to 150. Might be some truth in that.

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Yes, Alcaraz withdrew, Sinner out with heat cramps, Novak the favorite now and he seems very engaged.

[stotty]

Good first set from Novak after the standard injury wobble and MTO. Hitting his forehand extremely well as well as some excellent spot serving, probably the best spot server in the world right now.

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Novak is red lining his drama level here.

[stotty]

Novak gets through after the usual drama involving near physical collapse - looks as strong as a horse to me. Gone are the days of the 6-2 6-3 wins, however, and matches are much harder work these days. I still make him favourite to lift his 41st title in about the only venue (outside of Serbia) where he enjoys decent popularity.

[jimlosaltos]

This is too much, the two Cinderella cousins Rinderknech and Vacherot upset Medvedev and Djokovic to meet in the Shanghai finals.

Chaos! Chaos! I tell you

Qualifier Valentin Vacherot is at 204 in the world the lowest ranked finalist in an ATP Masters 1000 ever, after dumping Nole in straight sets 3 and 4.
And it wasn't that close. "Vacherot won 78 per cent (28/36) of points behind his first serve" vs the purported greatest returner ever and on newly slow courts.

Rinderknech's win over Medy was far tougher, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4

YT vid 6:07 min of Djoko- Vacherot

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https://www.atptour.com/en/news/medvedev-rinderknech-shanghai-2025-sf

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/xeCtTi5KywSpB8Zp6

Quite the impressive run to the Final. Novak really milking the medical TO, as was Med. To me, this needs to be addressed way more than the court surface/ball stuff that seems to be front and center.

[don_budge]

Yawn….zzzzzzzz.

[don_budge]

Yawn….zzzzzzzz.

It appears that Novak Djokovic has been overcome by time. It's always a little sad. Or a lot sad in the case of Roger Federer. Case in point...another Masters 1000 come and gone without Roger in it. I used to write that it wasn't a tournament without Roger in it. Novak has pretty much played his hand. It's just about over now. It is as if tennis is on its last legs too. Roger, Fafa, Novak and Andy kept it alive for a while but that isn't sustainable. The new crop has not materialized. Sinner and Alcarez are marginal characters with less than zero charisma. Alcarez has been reduced to dying his hair blond...an effort to increase his personna. He's a bit of a dimwit. He needs a team around him. Sinner is the ultimate bore. Even dating some pretty women fail to increase his level of being interesting.

Tennis appears to be metaphoring life through and through. On steroids. The powers that be risked it all in their engineering scheme on the game. It worked for a while. But once you start monkeying around with something, that process keeps going...until it doesn't. Sort of like Novak's legs. Yeah...it's kind of sad in a way. I was never a big Novak Djokovic fan. Roger was everything in the grand scheme of things. He was the glue that was holding it all together. Once he left the stadium...that was it. Why do I feel as if my dog just died?

Rinderknech vs. Vacherot in the final at the Shanghai Masters. This is the end. The forum has been rather dormant as well. Tennis is sad.

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/uQaKDcA3rvYoo8Gn6

What a story for qualifier Vacherot. Both players played well, Rinderknech played very well also. Vacheron came in at number 204, now number 59.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BEmUyGAD9vPtLbP49

[jimlosaltos]

Valentin Vacherot now has the same number of Masters 1000 titles as:

• Stan Wawrinka
• Dominic Thiem
• Juan Martin del Potro
• Marin Cilic
• David Ferrer
• Robin Soderling
• Tomas Berdych
• Grigor Dimitrov

I can't tell if this is a joke or real, Rinder starts cramping during the trophy ceremony.