Follow us on Google Discover Valentin Vacherot is still on a high following his stunning victory at the Shanghai Masters, where he claimed his first ATP title.
Vacherot won the Shanghai Masters final against his cousin Arthur Rinderknech, coming from behind to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
He became the first player from Monaco in the Open Era to win an ATP title, with Vacherot rising to 40th in the world rankings on the back of his success.
The 26-year-old climbed a huge 164 places to his career-high rank, while Rinderknech moved 26 places to world number 28.
Roger Federer watched Vacherot win in Shanghai, with the Swiss legend having attended the ATP Masters 1000 event earlier this month.
Photo by Yin Liqin/China News Service/VCG via Getty ImagesWhy Roger Federer made Valentin Vacherot go ‘crazy’ during the Shanghai Masters
The champion has now discussed that situation, having been asked on the Nothing Major Show if Federer’s presence put more pressure on him, or if it inspired him to play even better than he already was.
Vacherot replied: “First of all, he was here for five days, the last five days, and I think for the first four days, my girlfriend saw him 15 times, and I saw him nowhere.
“I couldn’t see him. I was only seeing him far away playing. They made this putt-putt 18-hole next to the player restaurant, and he was playing.
“I wasn’t going to go out there and just shake his hand, like I was waiting for the moment to just cross him all of a sudden. I could not cross him, and my girlfriend crossed him 15 times.
“And I was going crazy until the moment I actually walked on the court to warm up the morning of the match against Arthur.
“He came out of the door of the tunnel and I was coming in. And he made the excuse ahh, kind of like, even for him, ‘Oh, finally I see you’. We just talked for 20 seconds at the moment I was going to warm up.
“But yeah then he was here for the whole final then I spent 45 minutes with him on the celebration after in the player restaurant. It was like the cherry on top of this whole week.”
How Valentin Vacherot’s next tournament is fittingly linked to Roger Federer
Federer’s mere presence in and around the court was enough to frighten his opponents during his playing career.
But fortunately for Vacherot the legendary figure decided to call time on his glittering career back in 2022.
Federer played an exhibition in Shanghai, but adopted an even more relaxed approach to take in the thrilling final between cousins Vacherot and Rinderknech.
It was clearly an emotionally-testing week for the eventual champion, who deserves huge credit for keeping his composure and getting the job done.
Remarkably, he entered the Shanghai Masters as a qualifier, and knocked out the likes of Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune along the way.
Djokovic allowed Vacherot to take the attention after their semifinal clash, with the latter now fittingly set to seek a second career title next week.
Vacherot has earned a Basel wildcard, with the ATP 500 tournament fittingly taking place in Federer’s hometown in Switzerland.