With the triumph, Vacherot became the first Monegasque since his coach and half-brother, Benjamin Balleret<\/a>, to reach the third round in The Principality. It was his second Top 5 win after his semi-final victory against Novak Djokovic<\/a> en route to his shock Rolex Shanghai Masters<\/a> title triumph in October.<\/p>\n “The emotions went [up and] down a bit,” Vacherot said. “If someone told me that my first Top 5 win, second after Shanghai, will be here on a night session on the centre court I have been hitting on since I was six years old, it’s nothing, nothing can be done.”<\/p>\n Balleret advanced to the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 event in 2006 when he fell to then-World No. 1 Roger Federer<\/a>, 3-6, 2-6. Vacherot will aim to go one better when he faces Hubert Hurkacz<\/a> on Thursday, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.<\/p>\n “This is where I learned how to play tennis,” he said. “I needed a set and a half to get on it in the first round. Now my clay court game is back and I am ready to roll.”<\/p>\n Vacherot, who had only one ATP Tour win when he entered Shanghai last year, has now reached the Round of 16 in four of the past five ATP Masters 1000 events he has played. The 27-year-old went on to claim a dream title in Shanghai as the World No. 204 to become the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion in history. Vacherot now holds a 16-6 record at Masters 1000 events, according to the Infosys ATP Win\/Loss Index. <\/p>\n You May Also Like: Vacherot: ‘Your partner is really, really important’<\/a><\/p>\n
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