Ex-WTA Star Calls Valentin Vacherot’s Shanghai Fairytale Better Than Hollywood Movies

Even the Hollywood scriptwriter would have wondered at Valentin Vacherot‘s fairytale run at the Shanghai Masters, claimed Marion Bartoli, a former WTA World No.7. On Sunay (October 12), Vacherot took home his career’s first title by beating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in three sets.

Before this fortnight, Vacherot’s lone tour-level match win was at this year’s Monte Carlo Masters. But in Shanghai, he knocked out five seeded players, including 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, en route to the victory.

Another surprising thing was that he wasn’t even sure whether he would be able to play the tournament. He entered Shanghai as an alternate player and featured in the qualifying rounds only because of the withdrawals of some players.

Prior to this year, he had never played even the qualifying rounds in Shanghai. Bartoli, during the Bartoli Time on RMC, called Vacherot’s Shanghai campaign the most beautiful story.

It’s the most beautiful story this year in the world of tennis. It’s extraordinary. I don’t even have the words to describe it, it’s so historic what he managed to do after qualifying. To tell you the truth, when he landed in Shanghai, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to play the tournament. He was outside the qualifiers, he believed in it, and in the end, he was the one who lifted the trophy. If Hollywood scriptwriters had written such a script, they would have said that it was perhaps a bit too much.

Vacherot was a No.204 player when he started his campaign in Shanghai. And now, he has not only entered the top 100 for the first time, but he is standing on the 40th spot in the rankings table. The 26-year-old is the first player from Monaco to win a Masters 1000 title as well as the lowest-ranked player to win a title at this level (since 1990).

Valentin Vacherot on playing the Shanghai Masters final against his cousin

In the third all-unseeded Masters 1000 final, Valentin Vacherot set up his career’s first encounter with Arthur Rinderknech. The Frenchman was also chasing his first tour-level title and was successful in taking the first set off the Monegasque. The latter upped his level to tie the set before clinching a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.

That was it. Quickly, rivalry took the backseat, and Vacherot and Rinderknech became cousins again. They laughed and cried, and had kind words for each other, for they had already realized that even though only one champion would emerge, playing against each other in a big final is a great achievement for their family.

In any tournament, playing a final is somewhat different. Arthur was on the other side of the court, my cousin. It wasn’t easy dealing with that either. But I think both of us entered simply with the intention of beating each other. That’s what professional tennis players do. In fact, he played better than me at the beginning. So, I am very happy to have turned the situation around.

Valentin Vacherot said at the press conference

Rinderknech is now a career-best No. 28-ranked player. Before Shanghai, he produced his best performance when he reached the final of the 2022 Adelaide International. He also never progressed beyond the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament before this fortnight.

Because of his ranking, Vacherot won’t have to play the qualifying rounds for the Paris Masters. The last Masters 1000 of the season is scheduled to start on October 27. The 30-year-old was defeated in the third round in Paris last year. Vacherot has not yet played a match (qualifying or main draw) in the indoor hard-court event.

Also read: Coco Gauff Disapproves Idea of Changing Location Frequently for WTA Finals

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