Cousins Vacherot, Rinderknech Make ATP Masters 1000 History In Shanghai

Arthur Rinderknech, Valentin Vacherot
Arthur Rinderknech, Valentin Vacherot (photo: Rolex Shanghai Masters)

SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON, October 11, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

As four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion Novak Djokovic walked out on Stadium Court for his semifinal match at Qi Zhong Tennis Center, he had faced players from 58 different countries throughout his storied career, but never one from Monaco until Saturday. That’s when he opposed 204th-ranked qualifier Valentin Vacherot.

It’s a match that the former World No. 1 Djokovic will not forget anytime soon. That’s because the 6-foot-4-inch, 26-year-old Monegasque upset the 24-time major champion from Serbia, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 42 minutes to advance to his first tour-level final. In doing so, Vacherot has become the lowest-ranked finalist in ATP Masters 1000 series history dating back to 1990, breaking the record of Andrei Pavel, who was ranked No. 191 when he reached the 2003 Paris Masters final.

Cool and composed throughout, Vacherot struck a service winner on his second match-point opportunity that the 38-year-old Djokovic barely got his racquet on. For a moment, both players seemed stunned by the outcome. However, the victory was Vacherot’s to savor – and he received plenty of encouragement at the net from the physically-ailing but smiling Djokovic, who twice received physio treatment on his lower back during the opening set.

“You deserve it,” Djokovic said. “You played unbelievable. Keep it going.”

Vacherot replied to Djokovic: “Such a pleasure to play at least once against you. Don’t retire!”

Soon after, during his on-court interview with ATP Media, Vacherot was asked to describe his feelings. He replied: “I’m not realizing [what’s happened], so I can’t give any words on it. This is just crazy. First of all, to just be on the other side of the court [from Novak] was an unbelievable experience. I think I’ve got so much to learn from this match, from him. Even for myself, I’ve got a lot to keep.”

Vacherot’s story has been well documented this past week: going from being an alternate in qualifying to becoming the first player representing Monaco to reach an ATP Tour quarterfinal and semifinal – securing his Top 100 debut next week – and now garnering the biggest win of his career, in which he’s become the lowest-ranked finalist in ATP Masters 1000 series history.

In a week in China’s biggest city, in which it’s been so physically challenging for the best of players like World No. 2 Jannik Sinner and World No. 5 Djokovic, Vacherot has risen to Sunday’s final in good shape. Mentally, he’s in a pretty good space, too, thanks to stringing together consecutive victories over No. 17 Alexander Bublik, No. 23 Tomas Machac, No. 31 Tallon Griekspoor, No. 11 Holger Rune and No. 5 Djokovic – each one more remarkable than the previous one.

By the conclusion of their semifinal, Vacherot had hit 23 winners – including six aces – to 20 unforced errors, won 78 percent (28 of 36) of his first-serve points, converted three of six break points and outpointed Djokovic 67-51. Djokovic countered with nine winners but also committed 23 unforced errors. He broke Vacherot’s serve once in two opportunities.

“It was an hour and 40 minutes of pure joy, even though not many people wanted me to keep going,” Vacherot said. “[Novak is] really appreciated here. He has won four times. I got a bit lost in all his titles when they were announcing him, but it was an unreal experience. Now I’m probably just going to enjoy the win tonight and think about the final tomorrow.”

Later, during his post-match news conference, Vacherot summed up his emotions this way: “To be honest, a lot of emotions, actually. I took a little bit to come back up, but when I stood in the locker and opened it and turned on my phone it was pretty hard to not have a few tears, just having messages from everyone in Monaco back home, my friends, my family and everyone. So just about a hundred words I could put right now. It’s unbelievable for me. One more match tomorrow.”

With Vacherot’s dream run in Shanghai comes its rewards. He’s already assured he will rise into the ATP Top 100 for the first time on Monday after defeating Rune in the quarterfinals. Now, with his victory over Djokovic, he’s climbed 146 spots to No. 58 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. His previous career-high ranking was achieved last June at No. 110.

In Sunday’s championship final, Vacherot will face his cousin and former Texas A&M University teammate, 54th-ranked Arthur Rinderknech of France. Rinderknech beat 2019 Shanghai champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia, seeded 16th in this year’s event, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, in two hours and 29 minutes to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 title match.

Rinderknech was successful in his bid to become the ninth Frenchman to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final after Medvedev double faulted on match point. While the World No. 18, who was aiming to become the ninth man in series history to reach 11 ATP Masters 1000 finals, was arguably the better player overall, Rinderknech was the more courageous one – and, in the end, it made a difference.

The 30-year-old Frenchman compiled 47 winners – including 12 aces – to 40 unforced errors. He won 68 percent (75 of 111) of his first-serve points, saved 10 of 11 break points he faced, broke Medvedev three times and outpointed his opponent 96-93. Medvedev countered 32 winners to 15 unforced errors. He served 11 aces and won 76 percent (39 of 51) of his first-serve points.

Upon securing the semifinal victory, which advanced him to just his second career tour-level final, Rinderknech fell to the court – somewhat in a state of shock – and began celebrating. Meanwhile, Vacherot, who had returned to the Stadium Court to witness the conclusion of his cousin’s match, was stunned by the outcome. Soon, Vacherot walked on court and shared an emotional hug with his cousin. 

By the time Rinderknech returned to his bench to collect his belongings, happy and relieved, he signed the TV camera lens: “And now what???!!!!” Exactly.

Rinderknech has moved up to No. 28 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings following his run to final. In Shanghai, he has achieved wins over No. 65 Hamad Medjedovic, No. 34 Alex Michelsen, No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 19 Jiri Lehecka, No. 13 Felix Auger-Aliassime and Medvedev. He will climb to No. 22 if he beats Vacherot to win the Shanghai title on Sunday.

“In the best dreams, we couldn’t have dreamt about this, so I can’t even say it’s a dream, because I don’t think even one person in our family dreamt about it,” Rinderknech said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “So it wasn’t a dream, it’s just a dream that came out of nowhere. We started believing it, I would say, in the quarters, maybe …

“Now we are here, we fought through so many matches and somehow we are the [two] guys standing at the end, so it’s just incredible.”

During his post-match news conference, Rinderknech put the family affair into perspective. He said: “Tomorrow there will be two winners. … There’s going to be a match, of course, but today we won everything. We couldn’t win any more, you know. We won everything. Tomorrow between us, that’s all that matters.”

Around the Qi Zhong Tennis Center

No. 3 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz of Germany defeated alternates Guido Andreozzi of Argentina and Manuel Guinard of France, 6-3, 7-6 (8), in one hour and 39 minutes to advance to Sunday’s doubles title match.

Krawietz and Puetz came in having won one title this year at Halle and were finalists at  two other events – Adelaide and Munich. Meanwhile, Andreozzi and Guinard were appearing in their third straight semifinal in China – at Hangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.

The German duo (37-15) will face Andre Goransson of Sweden and Alex Michelsen of the United States, who are playing together for the first time as a team and have won each of their previous four matches. Earlier this year, Goransson won the Munich title with Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands, while Michelsen was a finalist at Stuttgart with fellow American Rajeev Ram.

Saturday’s Shanghai Masters results

Sunday’s Shanghai Masters order of play

By the numbers

At 30 years and two months, Arthur Rinderknech is the sixth-oldest first-time ATP Masters 1000 finalist. The oldest is Jan-Lennard Struff, who was 33-years-old when he reached the final of the 2023 Madrid Masters.

“Quotable …”

“I want to congratulate Valentin for reaching his first Masters final. Going from qualifications, it’s an amazing story. I told him at the net that he’s had an amazing tournament, but more so his attitude is very good, and his game was amazing as well.

“So it’s all about him. I wish him all the best in the finals, and the better player won today.”

– Novak Djokovic, during his post-match news conference Saturday, after losing to 204th-ranked qualifier Valentin Vacherot in the semifinal round.

 

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