Andy Roddick has hailed surprise Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot as the \u201cguy to emulate\u201d as he reflected on the Monegasque\u2019s stunning triumph.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest and most special tennis stories of the year saw Vacherot<\/a> defeat cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the Shanghai final, prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 against the Frenchman after an extraordinary run for both<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ranked 204th in the world, Vacherot was initially only an alternate for the qualifying draw of the tournament, though he eventually came through qualifying to reach the main draw of the Masters 1000 event.<\/p>\n The Monegasque would beat the likes of Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune, and Novak Djokovic on his way to the final before battling past Rinderknech, who himself was a surprise finalist in Shanghai.<\/p>\n Victory for Vacherot made him the lowest-ranked man to ever win a Masters 1000 title, and propelled him inside the top 40 of the ATP Rankings<\/a> \u2014 having never previously cracked the top 100.<\/p>\n However, Vacherot, who turned 27 earlier this month, did not rest on his laurels.<\/p>\n Just over a week after victory in Shanghai, he was in action at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, pushing top seed Taylor Fritz all the way in a hard-fought three-set defeat.<\/p>\n He then received a wildcard into the main draw of the Paris Masters, and again went on another impressive run.<\/p>\n Competing at the final Masters 1000 event of 2025, Vacherot beat 14th seed Jiri Lehecka, Rinderknech, and Cameron Norrie to reach the quarter-final<\/a>, before exiting to eventual finalist and ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.<\/p>\n Tennis News<\/p>\n Lorenzo Musetti reveals why \u2018role model\u2019 Jannik Sinner could never be his \u2018enemy\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Daniil Medvedev reveals why he is \u2018glad\u2019 he didn\u2019t win controversial US Open match<\/a><\/p>\n Having been ranked outside the top 200 less than two months ago, the 27-year-old is now ranked 31st in the world, and will likely be seeded on his Australian Open main-draw debut next January.<\/p>\n Roddick\u2019s Served<\/a> podcast recently ranked its top 10 matches of the 2025 season, with Vacherot\u2019s win over Rinderknech ranking eighth in the fan vote.<\/p>\n And, speaking about the match, the former world No 1 heaped praise on Vacherot not only for his triumph, but for his efforts afterwards.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of us, if we suddenly won a million bucks, we\u2019re halfway down a bottle of Maker\u2019s Mark on the flight home,\u201d said Roddick<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he goes to Basel, plays Taylor Fritz in the first round, and gives him a real match 7\u20135 in the third. Then he goes to Paris, beats his cousin again, wins more points, and finally loses to F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime.<\/p>\n \u201cNow he\u2019s going to be seeded in Australia. This is a guy who wasn\u2019t eligible for the previous major\u2019s qualifying. Now he won\u2019t play anyone ranked higher than him until the third round. This is the best of tennis.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone wants to be Carlos, or Jannik, or Sabalenka \u2014 but for a lot of players, Vacherot is the guy to emulate. He\u2019s the inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n Vacherot\u2019s efforts in recent months have also been recognised by the ATP Tour, with the Monegasque nominated for an official ATP award.<\/p>\n The 27-year-old is one of four nominees for the ATP Breakthrough of the Year, alongside Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca, and Jakub Mensik.<\/p>\n