Follow us on Google Discover No fan could have foreseen the final matchup at the 2025 Shanghai Masters, which ultimately pitted two cousins ranked outside the top 50 against each other.
Ranked 54th and 204th, respectively, Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot won their semifinal clashes with Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic to set up a family affair in the championship match.
Vacherot had come through qualifying to reach the main draw in Shanghai and advanced all the way to the final, where he came back from a set down to beat Rinderknech.
His campaign marked one of the greatest underdog stories in recent memory, and he became the lowest-ranked player ever to win a Masters 1000 tournament.
Photo by Yin Liqin/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
Vacherot also became the fifth player in history to clinch a maiden ATP title at a Masters 1000 competition.
The Monegasque qualifier was as shocked as anybody with his heroics in Shanghai, which he discussed on the ‘Nothing Major’ podcast.
Valentin Vacherot says when he thought he could win in Shanghai
When asked when he thought it was possible to win the tournament, Vacherot said: “It got crazy when I beat Tallon Griekspoor in the round of 16, and I didn’t know what my ranking was going to be.
“I didn’t look. I have this ritual that I just look at the end of the tournament. I don’t look win after win.
“But the media started saying, ‘oh, if he wins this next match, he breaks the top 100’, so I started seeing all of that.
“That’s why the win against [Holger] Rune was really special, and I had way more emotions after Rune than after Novak [Djokovic] in the semifinal.
“I think it was more like respect for Novak, let’s say. But yeah, I would say after the round of 16 I knew that I was on to something big.
“But what’s crazy is I never thought about winning the tournament until I was in the final. I never thought about it for one second before that.”
Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty ImagesValentin Vacherot’s run to the Shanghai Masters title
Vacherot’s route to the Shanghai Masters began with two tricky matches in the qualifying stages against Nishesh Basavareddy and Liam Draxl, and he had to come back from a set down against both of them.
In the main draw, Vacherot earned a comfortable first-round win over Laslo Djere before knocking out seeded star Alexander Bublik and advancing past Tomas Machac via a walkover.
His fourth-round test came in the form of Tallon Griekspoor, whom he beat in three sets, before knocking out Holger Rune in the quarterfinals.
Vacherot’s biggest win at the event was against Djokovic, having overcome the 24-time major champion 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final.
Though Rinderknech proved to be a tough task in the title bout, Vacherot produced an incredible display to defeat his cousin and hoist the trophy.