Overview
- John Isner said on the Nothing Major Show that Valentin Vacherot’s Shanghai Masters title was more impressive, calling it more improbable than Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open win.
- Caroline Wozniacki directly rejected that view during a podcast exchange, insisting the US Open triumph is the superior achievement.
- Vacherot entered Shanghai as a late alternate in qualifying and beat Laslo Djere, Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune, Novak Djokovic and Arthur Rinderknech to become the lowest-ranked Masters champion.
- Raducanu won 10 straight matches without dropping a set to capture the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam.
- Isner defended his stance by noting Vacherot had just one main-level win by age 26, while recent coverage also highlights Raducanu’s difficulty replicating her breakthrough and her comments about briefly trying therapy.