Vacherot’s victory in Shanghai reveals that men’s tennis is level and struggling: fatigue, withdrawals and a drop in quality behind Alcaraz and Sinner.
There is an image that explains better than any scoreboard what happened at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai: that of skating competition at the 2002 Winter Olympics, when Steven Bradbury won gold after all his opponents in front of him fell at the last turn.
Also Valentin VacherotMonegasque number 204 in the world, triumphed and essentially remained “the only one standing” while the rest of the circuit collapsed around him. In fact, there have been several withdrawals or subpar performances of the big favorites in recent days – first Sinner, then Djokovic and Medvedev.
Natural elimination tournament and leveled men’s tennis
During the tournament there were successive withdrawals for injuries, cramps and physical problems linked to the fatigue of a long and exhausting season. And above all, to a sultry and suffocating heat which had a negative impact on the performance on the pitch. Yes, the real protagonist was the heat, not the pitch.
The world number one and fresh winner of the US Open Carlos Alcarazhad wisely decided not to participate after a year full of satisfactions but exhausting. Rival Jannik Sinner, however, took part in the tournament, but withdrew due to cramps in the third round.
The Tale of the Cousins: Vacherot and Rinderknech
And just when victory seemed to be on its way Novak Djokovic And Daniil Medvedevthe only two big names to reach the semi-finala more than unexpected surprise arrives. Indeed, two surprises. The Serbian, affected by vomiting and malaise, was defeated by Vacherot, number 204 in the world and practically unknown until that moment. The Russian allows himself to be overtaken by the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, cousin of Vacherot himselfand loses by taking it out on the chair umpire.
In this context, the cousins’ race and the final victory of the underdog between the two (number 204 against number 54) appears to be the perfect conclusion to a memorable sporting miracle. Yet, this marvelous triumph against all odds must not obscure the negative moment that tennis is experiencing. Not Italian tennis, of course, at the historical top thanks to champions in the top 10 like Sinner and Musetti.
An alarm bell
Vacherot’s success is a sporting fairytale, yes, but it is above all the symptom of a deeper phenomenon.
In fact, after the decline of the Big Three, men’s tennis is experiencing a transition phase in which the average quality seems to have dropped. Djokovic, the only one of the Big Three still active on the circuit, a 38 years old reached all four Grand Slam semifinals. He is no longer able to beat the top two, he is no longer as fast as he once was, but he is the only one to consistently reach the final stages of tournaments. It’s consistent, unlike the others in the top 10. E this shows how low the level of men’s tennis isbeyond the Sinner and Alcaraz phenomena. A venerable (always champion) Djokovic who still proves superior to the new recruits.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dominate in terms of freshness, intensity and technical solidity, but behind them the void widens. Alexander Zverev, third in rankingis closer in score to number 50 Altmaier than to number two Sinner. A disconcerting fact.
The “WTAization” risk
Let’s do a more in-depth analysis of theelite of current men’s tennis. Rune and Auger-Aliassime are there discontinuity par excellence. Tsitsipas, Medvedev and Ruud appear to have lost the spark. Zverev navigates through ups and downs, in vain search for his first Slam.
The emerging young people do not find stability, the veterans resist due to experience and lack of competition.
Thus, in the absence of Alcaraz and Sinner, each tournament becomes fertile ground for surprises which, rather than meritocratic, seem to be the result of a downward leveling.
The comparison with the women’s circuit is inevitable: in WTAafter the retirement of Serena Williams, “anyone can win”. This unpredictability has a price, that of the loss of quality and technical identity. Something that spectators, fresh from extraordinary rivalries between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, with many excellent players in the top 10 such as Del Potro, Murray and Wawrinka, are not willing to pay.
The present and future of tennis
Vacherot deserved his title, of course, but his victory is more like that of the Winter Olympics of 2002 of skating than Goran Ivanisevic’s feat at Wimbledon in 2001. The last man standing won in a free fall race.
Men’s tennis today is like that ice rink in 2002: full of slips.
And while Alcaraz and Sinner compete for the present and the future, around them the rest of the group struggles to even stay in balance.
