Oct 12, 2025, 07:27 AM ET<\/p>\n
SHANGHAI — Valentin Vacherot<\/a> beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech<\/a> 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Shanghai Masters for the first title of his career after a stunning run from the qualifying rounds.<\/p>\n The 204th-ranked Vacherot, an unheralded 26-year-old, was the lowest-ranked tournament winner in ATP Masters 1000 history — and the first from the tiny Principality of Monaco.<\/p>\n It was quite a performance, too.<\/p>\n He stunned 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic<\/a> in the semifinals to set up a final against the 30-year-old Rinderknech, who had downed four-time major finalist Daniil Medvedev<\/a>, the 2021 US Open champion, in a remarkable semifinal of his own.<\/p>\n Vacherot produced a serving masterclass in the third set, with three straight love holds and 15 consecutive points before finally losing a point in the eighth game with an unforced error.<\/p>\n Serving to stay in the match at 15-40 down, Rinderknech saved one match point but Vacherot wrong-footed him with yet another blistering forehand winner down the line to clinch victory.<\/p>\n He held his face in his hands in disbelief before walking to the net to hug his cousin and then rushing to his team box to share a long hug with coach Benjamin Balleret<\/a>, who is his half-brother and is a former tennis player from Monaco.<\/p>\n