Vacherot beats his cousin in Shanghai and becomes the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion

Vacherot beats his cousin in Shanghai and becomes the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion


The world number 204 secures the first trophy of his career after the 2 sets to 1 victory over Arthur Rinderknech

When Valentin Vacherot left Munich for Shanghai, looking for a place in the 1000 MastersI wasn’t sure I would be able to get on the field. In China, the world number 204 counted on luck and the withdrawal of nine competitors to access the qualifiers and, two weeks later, lift the unprecedented trophy in his career.

The 26-year-old tennis player’s epic had a happy ending this Sunday, with the decisive victory of 2 sets to 1 over his cousin Arthur Rinderknech, with partial scores of 4/6, 6/3 and 6/3, in 2h14 of play. With the result, the Monegasque became the lowest-ranked champion in the history of ATP 1000-level tournaments, overtaking Croatian Borna Coric, then 152nd when he won in Cincinnati, in 2022.

“It’s difficult to summarize this emotion in words, to be aware of what’s happening. I just want to thank everyone. It’s something crazy,” said the new champion. “Today was the day of two champions, unfortunately someone has to win and I’m happy it was me, but it’s our family that wins.”

In addition to his French cousin, 58th in the ATP ranking, Vacherot had to overcome names such as Novak Djokovic, tennis legend and current number 5 in the world, Holger Rune (11th) and Alexander Bublik (17th). “One day you face the champions, the next day a family member. It was difficult,” said the Monegasque. “It’s surreal to share the pitch with my cousin, training partner, someone I train with, someone I spend holidays with,” added Vacherot, who will make a meteoric rise in the rankings and will occupy 40th place.

On the court Rinderknech starts the match more concentrated and wins the first set, 6/4, but Vacherot recovers and turns the match around with a double 6/3. “Arthur started better than me. When I had the chance to break, in the second set, I took advantage of it and I grew from there. I found my game and kept the pace until the end”, summed up the champion.

After the match, emotion took over the pitch. From the strong embrace between relatives to the emotional speeches, neither Vacherot nor Rinderknech held back their tears, amidst the exuberant applause of the Chinese public and the legend Roger Federer, ambassador of the tournament.

Source: Terra

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